The Struggle of Harmony
by LoverofChrist
Summary: Sequel to Let Rise a New Alicorn. Tara has ruled as Princess Armonia of Equestria for a long time. But as Twilight suffers distress from an event that never happened, a subtle dark magic grows stronger-and threatens everypony we know and love. Rated T for dark magic, frightening situations, and emotional distress.
1. Chapter 1: Sunset Shimmer's Song

**I know it's a bit early for a sequel but this idea came to me in a dream I had last night (I'm not kidding-guess I can blame Luna XD ) and I wanted to write it. This first chapter is a prologue for what will come later. This takes place in the human world after the events of Let Rise a New Alicorn, so no conflict with my current story. Enjoy! Please review for more! :D**

"Ready, Rainbooms?" asked the rainbow-haired lead guitarist.

"Sunset Shimmer still isn't here yet," Rarity reminded her.

"Golly, she's sure late today!" Pinkie commented.

At that instant Sunset dashed up, panting, carrying her guitar. "Sorry, everyone," she apologized.

"What on Earth were you doing to make you so late?" Rainbow demanded.

"I was checking out this song I heard on the radio at school." Sunset plopped down her backpack and pulled out sheet music. "I found the lyrics and a bunch of sheet music for it. I was practicing the notes on my guitar."

"What song?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

" 'Angel of Darkness' by Alex Christensen. It's an amazing song! I thought we could try playing it today." She glanced up at Rainbow Dash.

"Well…have you got all the music for it?" Rainbow asked.

Sunset Shimmer nodded excitedly. "Guitar, drums, keytar, everything!"

"Let's try it, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack asserted.

As the rest of the Rainbooms joined in agreement Rainbow threw up her hands in defeat. "Okay, alright!"

"And can I sing? Since I know the lyrics best," Sunset ventured.

"Okay," Rainbow said reluctantly. "One song." She slung her guitar on and tuned to Sunset's guitar as the rest of the band prepped their instruments.

After a few minutes of practice, Pinkie raised her drumsticks and tapped them together. "One, two, three!"

Rarity began with a whoosh sound on her keytar. Sunset leaned into the microphone and sang in a clear, powerful voice.

"Angel of darkness, angel of darkness, the world is in your hand, but I will fight until the end!"

Pinkie started on the drums.

"Angel of darkness, angel of darkness, don't follow your command, but I will fight and I will stand!"

Sunset looked down and strummed her guitar the tiniest bit as Pinkie's drumming grew stronger. "When darkness falls," she whispered, "pain is all…the angel of darkness…will leave behind…and I will…fight." She inhaled and exhaled rapidly several times and her voice grew louder.

"The love is lost, beauty and light, have vanished from garden of delight, the dreams are gone, midnight has come, the darkness is our new kingdom…yeah…"

She threw her head back and jammed hard on her guitar as Rainbow Dash followed her lead. "Angel of darkness, angel of darkness, the world is in your hand, but I will fight until the end!"

Magical auras appeared around each girl.

"Angel of darkness, angel of darkness…"

Each girl's pony ears appeared as her hair lengthened to the ground in ponytails and Rainbow and Fluttershy's wings unfurled.

"…don't follow your command, but I will fight and I will stand!"

Rarity played one rapid measure on her keytar solo and then Sunset, Rainbow, and Pinkie joined her playing their instruments hard. Rainbow watched Sunset Shimmer in amazement. The now half-pony girl jammed like she'd played guitar her whole life, her eyes closed in passion, her hands flying over the strings. She was really getting into the song.

The instrumental interlude ended and as Rarity kept her keytar volume low and Pinkie's drums kept time, Sunset almost whispered into the microphone. "The hunt goes on, deep in the night…time to pray, down on your knees; you can't hide from the eternal light…until my last breath I will fight…I will fight…I will fight…I will fight…"

She inhaled and exhaled deeply again. "Now realize, the stars they die, darkness has fallen in paradise, but we'll be strong, and we will fight, against the creatures of the night!"

Both guitars paused to make way for the keytar and the drums before all four joined together again.

"Angel of darkness, angel of darkness, the world is in your hand, but I will fight until the end! Angel of darkness, angel of darkness, don't follow your command, but I will fight and I will stand! Yea-yeah!" Sunset jammed so hard at this point Rainbow actually worried her guitar strings would snap. Tears even ran down the red and gold haired girl's cheeks as she played.

Finally all the instruments faded out to quiet.

As the girls' pony features vanished in brief bursts of magic, all focused on Sunset Shimmer. She stood there almost silently except for her panting, head bowed, hair mussed from her energetic movements during the song. After a moment's quiet she looked up nervously. "Good?"

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Rainbow exclaimed. The rest of the girls echoed her. "But why sing a song about an angel of darkness?" Rainbow added in slight confusion.

Sunset closed her eyes. "I know it sounds crazy, but…when I heard that song, the fall formal those years ago came to mind." She looked up and the girls could see her mascara was beginning to run. "I became an angel of darkness. What's worse, I don't think even Twilight's spells got all the dark magic out. I still struggle with anger and sometimes I'm afraid I'll transform again if I'm not careful. But I heard that song…and I envisioned myself singing to that evil transformed Sunset Shimmer. She may be locked up in here now—" She touched her heart— "But she wants out. Singing that song is a way for me to tell her she's gone forever." Sniffling, she wiped her eyes and half smiled. "I'm sorry. Just had to get that out."

"Darling, I think it's wonderful you find such fulfillment in that song," Rarity said encouragingly.

Even Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement.

Suddenly Pinkie jumped up like a pogo stick. "OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMY—"

Applejack tapped Pinkie over the head with her bass. "You just ruined the mood, Pinkie."

"I'VE GOT TO LEAVE! BYE GIRLS!" Pinkie shouted, totally ignoring Applejack. Rolling the drum set along in front of her, she ran off.

"What's her problem?" Rainbow asked.

"She said something earlier about a babysitting job—must be that," Rarity recalled.

Sunset giggled. "I can't imagine her babysitting."

"Me either.' Applejack looked at her watch. "Well, I gotta get back to the farm—chores, ya know. Practice same place, same time next week?"

"Absolutely!" Rainbow replied, packing up her guitar. "Need a ride, Sunset Shimmer?"

"No thanks, my apartment's not far." Suddenly a gust of wind scattered Sunset's sheet music everywhere. "Whoops!" She dashed after the papers as the others hurried to help her.

Sunset Shimmer chased one particular sheet that seemed to have a mind of its own. "Come on!" It was blowing toward the horse statue in front of the school—and the portal into Equestria. Just before it would have gone through the portal she grabbed it and laughed, panting. "Twilight would have sure gotten a surprise if I hadn't caught that!"

She walked at a much slower, more relaxed pace back toward the stage.

But she didn't expect what happened next.

As she passed by a clump of bushes, a pair of strong arms grabbed her and pulled her in violently. She was too surprised to cry out. In an instant she felt a thin but razor-sharp blade against her throat and her arms pinned painfully behind her. A young man—probably a student but she wasn't sure—stared at her with evil eyes glowing a slight ghostly green. "Scream, and you die," he hissed. "Run, and you die. Fight, and you die. Got it?"

Sunset whimpered in fright. "Y-y-yes."

The student thrust her to the ground and began tying her up with strong ropes. The poor girl was terrified. "What do you want?!"

"Shut up!" her captor growled and flashed the knife again.

Once her hands and feet were bound tightly, Sunset's abductor dragged her out of the bushes and toward the portal. But now the statue and the portal were engulfed in a dark cloud. Sunset's eyes bugged out in terror. Dark magic—and she knew whose it was.

"Sunset Shimmer," a deep voice from within the cloud chuckled.

"What do you want with me?!" she demanded.

"Would you like to find out?" the student asked and laughed. He picked her up and prepared to heave her through the portal.

Disregarding his warning, Sunset struggled violently. "No! Let me go! Don't—!"

The student flung his prisoner into the portal. Immediately the dark cloud was also sucked into the portal and the slight greenish hue left the student's eyes. He blinked in surprise and shook his head. "Sheesh…what a dream…"

**What's happened to Sunset?! Who spoke to her?! Most importantly, when will I post more? I'll continue this story once Let Rise a New Alicorn is nearly over! :D Read that story for a background, or if you don't have time, wait for my recap. :P Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Trouble in Equestria

**Second chapter! :D Recap coming soon. Had this chapter written and just had to post it. :P And before I get a bunch of hateful PMs, yes, I am a fan of Flash Sentry. He doesn't deserve all the hatred the fandom has given him. So yes, he will be Twilight's love interest in this story. Don't like, don't read. Don't like and still reading-live with it and don't threaten me into changing it.**

It must have been past midnight. I'm not sure now. All I know was I was peacefully asleep in my bed, dreaming of flying high through the clouds, when bloodcurdling screams jolted me awake.

"No! No! Stop! NO!"

It was definitely Twilight's voice. Alarmed, I leapt out of bed and dashed down the hall, not caring that I was in my rather snug-fitting nightgown. This had become almost a nightly occurrence for Twilight now and I had to help her.

By the time I arrived at her bedroom door Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence had already arrived. Cadence was hugging the crying Twilight as the princesses of day and night looked on in concern. Twilight's maid was remaking the bed and fluffing the pillows. Meanwhile, a member of the royal guard stood just outside the door. He had been on guard duty, and was apparently trying to ignore the emotional scene going on in the room behind him.

I approached him. "What happened here?"

He saluted. "Princess Twilight Sparkle seems to have had another nightmare, Your Highness." I noticed he was making an effort to look at my face and not look down. My nightgown must be pretty bad.

I sighed and snapped my fingers toward Twilight's maid, who had just finished the bed. "Fetch my bathrobe, please."

As the maid left I turned back to the guard. "Find Flash Sentry immediately." I knew the presence of someone she loved could soothe Twilight's tense nerves.

"He's off-duty tonight, Your Highness; I thought you knew that."

I glanced into the room at the still weeping and shaking Twilight. The guard raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure he'll come if Princess Twilight needs him."

"Excellent."

The maid reappeared right then with my bathrobe, which I accepted and quickly put on. "Thank you."

As the guard galloped away I ran into the bedroom. "Twilight, what happened?"

"I—another nightmare," she whispered.

"You say that every night, and yet you never want to talk. Twilight, Luna can help you if you just tell her about your nightmare!"

Twilight began to cry all over again. "You—you just don't understand. I couldn't—I can't tell her! It's just too—awful!"

"Can you tell one of us, and she can tell Luna?" Cadence asked gently.

Twilight sniffed. "I—I think I can tell Tara."

Luna stepped toward Twilight, her flowing blue mane a soothing sight. "I am glad you are going to tell someone about this, Twilight. Once I understand what your nightmares are like, I will know how to counteract them."

Twilight managed a tiny smile. Cadence stroked her mane encouragingly, then released the little alicorn and stepped out of the room with Luna and Celestia.

I sat on the bed and Twilight curled up next to me. For a moment we just sat in silence, my fingers in Twilight's mane. Finally I spoke. "I'm listening, Twilight."

She inhaled shakily. "I—I have this repeating nightmare that I'm back in Sombra's dungeon and the shadow ponies are beating me up. Sombra mocks me and then sends the shadow ponies away. Then he tells me he wants to have his fun with me—the fun he never got. I know you're outside the dungeon door and I start yelling your name and begging Sombra not to do it, but he doesn't listen and—" Twilight sobbed. "I'm crying and screaming for help and Sombra is laughing and—it just seems so real! I'm always afraid that it is real and that you becoming Armonia was just a fantasy! But then I wake up." She looked up at me with terrified eyes. "Are you sure Luna can help me?"

"Luna wields the power of dreams. She can stop your nightmares," I promised her.

"That's very true, Your Highnesses," came a familiar voice from outside.

Twilight smiled as Flash Sentry walked in. He was obviously tired, his mane mussed, having risen from bed hastily. But he had done it—for Twilight.

Flash bowed politely to both of us. "I was told Princess Twilight wanted me to come."

Twilight blushed.

"Actually, I was the one who called you," I answered. "But Twilight here could use some time with you."

Twilight's blush grew a little deeper as she slid down to the floor. Flash hugged her gently. "Your Highness, I just want you to know that whatever you dreamed, I'm here to protect you."

"Thanks, Flash," Twilight whispered and pressed her muzzle against his chest.

It was a little embarrassing for me to witness their hug, but at least it was an innocent hug given in comfort. Twilight had told me that when she was a filly, she had walked in on her brother about to kiss her then-foalsitter Princess Cadence. They had only stopped when Twilight showed up. A one-hoof hug was far less embarrassing for both participants and witnesses.

After a few minutes of quiet talking between the three of us, Twilight felt peaceful enough to try to sleep again. I motioned to Flash to follow me as we went looking for Princess Luna.

As it turned out, she was still wide awake, waiting just down the hall. "Did Twilight tell you?" she asked quietly.

"She did. You're dismissed, Flash Sentry—and on behalf of Princess Twilight, thank you." The blue-maned stallion saluted and left.

I sighed and hugged myself. "Twilight said she's had a repeating nightmare where she's in King Sombra's dungeon and he…" I hesitated.

"If I do not know what she dreams, I cannot help her," Luna reminded me.

I sighed. "Sombra—forces himself on her."

Luna's eyes grew wide. I closed my eyes and turned away. "It never really happened. She was badly beaten, and Sombra almost got to her that way, but I teleported into the dungeon before he got the chance. I just don't understand why she's dreaming about something that never happened and yet seems like a memory."

"I believe it's what you humans call 'Post-traumatic stress disorder'," Luna mentioned, having trouble with the long and complicated name. "Where a victim of violence or abuse has flashbacks and emotional trauma because of the incident."

"But Twilight's wounds were healed when I wept over her, and Sombra never got to use her!"

"No matter. It could just be that her fears have given her the thought that it could easily have happened, and her nightmares are based off her fears." Luna trotted down the hall. "But regardless, she should sleep peacefully now. Tomorrow before she lays down I shall cast my peaceful slumber spell upon her—we shall see if she is saved then."

True to her word, the next night as Twilight prepared to go to bed, the princess of the night performed her "peaceful slumber" spell. I was present to see it and must admit, it looked very effective. Luna charged her horn with sparkling blue magic and touched it to Twilight's, letting her comforting magic flow into the smaller alicorn as she whispered, "Sleep peacefully, free from nightmares, under my moon this starlit night."

Twilight wore a slight smile on her lips as she curled up under the covers. Each of us princesses went off to bed ourselves, confident that Luna's spell had solved the problem completely.

But come midnight, we all once again heard Twilight's cries. "No! Please, no! Somepony help me!"

Once again all four other princesses assembled in Twilight's room. Luna seemed baffled. "I simply don't understand it! The spell never failed before!"

"So why would it fail now?" Celestia asked her sister.

"I do not know, my sister!"

Something suddenly bugged me. "Do you hold the power over all dreams?" I asked Luna.

To my surprise, the princess of the night shook her head. "I can create dreams. I can enter dreams. I can dissolve nightmares. But I cannot interfere with dreams caused by magic from outside the dreamer."

I glanced into the bedroom at Twilight. "Do you think…maybe Sombra cast a spell on Twilight? Could that be why she's having these nightmares?"

"It is very possible," Luna agreed.

"But how do we break the nightmare spell?"

Tense silence reigned for almost a full minute. Finally Luna shook her head. "I do not know."

Somewhere else in Equestria...

Sunset groaned as she struggled to open her eyes. She knew vaguely that her body was pinned down in a spread-eagle position by what felt like chains. But that was about all she knew.

Chilling laughter sent spasms of fear down her spine as she woke up the rest of the way. "So," the dark voice mocked her, "you decided to awaken and join me."

"Where am I? What have you done to me?" Sunset groaned.

"We are in Equestria, my dear. I thought you would appreciate having your pony body back."

Even in her blurred vision, Sunset could tell she had indeed transformed. She was a unicorn again. But she didn't know quite how to feel about that. For the longest time she had yearned to go back home to Equestria and regain her unicorn body. All that had stopped her was the thought of meeting Princess Celestia again, and all the ponies she had wronged. She should have been overjoyed to see she had hooves again instead of hands and feet. But instead she was very worried. She had wanted to come home, but…not like this. Not being kidnapped by possibly the most powerful wielder of dark magic in Equestrian history.

"I suppose you're wondering what you're doing here," the voice continued.

"What gave you that idea? Me asking you and your minion twice what you wanted?" Sunset demanded dryly.

The voice ignored her. "I have been watching you in the human world and something has always bothered me. You never met the Sunset Shimmer who was human by birth, did you?"

Sunset's eyes widened in horror. "What have you done to her?!"

"Don't worry, I haven't touched her. Because she doesn't exist."

"Wha…"

"You have no human counterpart. The only Sunset Shimmer in either world was born a unicorn."

"But…why?" By now Sunset Shimmer was both frightened and confused. "I thought everypony had a human counterpart!"

"Everypony except you, my dear. And every human has a pony counterpart—except for one." A ghostly image appeared in front of Sunset in the midst of the dark magic cloud. It was a face Sunset hadn't seen in years, and with anthro pony/human features, yet she knew who it was.

"Tara!" she gasped.

"Tara is the only human born without a pony counterpart born in Equestria. Of course, the reason is obvious now. She allegedly fulfilled some crazy prophecy by Starswirl and became a pony herself. She may be human in her natural birth form, but now her secondary form is an alicorn or half of each. It seems reasonable that Princess Armonia would have no pony counterpart, since she is a pony and there will only be one."

The cloud of dark magic slowly condensed into an all-too-familiar unicorn form.

King Sombra.

He stepped closer to the trembling Sunset Shimmer. "But why you? Why would there only be one Sunset Shimmer?"

Sunset was now wondering that herself. But Sombra gave her no time to consider it. "I decided there could be no better way to find out than to ask the one and only Sunset Shimmer herself."

"But I swear, I don't know! I didn't even know until you told me!"

Sombra sneered. "Oh, you don't, do you?"

"I don't! Please believe me!"

Sombra laughed now. "Oh, but I don't, my dear. But I have ways of making even the most stubborn of ponies spill their every secret."

Sunset began to cry. "No…"

The dark unicorn king scowled. "Very well. One last chance to tell me all. If you do not speak…you can imagine what I will do to you."

Tears Sunset Shimmer couldn't wipe away dripped down her cheeks. "But I don't know anything about this!"

"All right then." Sombra rubbed noses with his terrified captive. "How would you like to regain all the power and magic Twilight Sparkle's rainbow friendship spell drove out of you?"

"Do you mean—?"

"Yes, deary. You would once again become the wielder of powerful magic who can brainwash an entire human school—not that that requires much magic, of course." He laughed darkly. "Those humans—so sure their science explains everything. They can't protect themselves against the simplest of dark spells."

"Don't do it…please, please don't do it…" Sunset begged.

Sombra slowly began morphing back into his shadow form. "If you still refuse to speak, you leave yourself no route of escape."

"But I don't know—!"

"You don't know anything," her kidnapper mocked. "Fine then." Completely in his shadow form by now, the wicked king slowly wrapped himself in wispy tentacles of dark magic around the terrified unicorn. The tentacles grew tighter and tighter until, to Sunset's horror, they actually began to merge with her body.

She struggled wildly but it was too late. Nothing she could have done could have protected her. She gave one final cry of desperation before bowing her head in defeat.

Excruciating pain and spasms shook her body wherever the dark magic touched her. But she had stopped fighting by now. Tears ran silently from her eyes as she simply wept in sorrow and pain.

Sombra finally released her from his deathly tight grip. "Are you ready to tell me?"

"I told you I know nothing!" Sunset moaned.

Immediately Sombra began to wind his dark magic around her again. Sunset sobbed and squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the torture that was coming. The shadow king whispered into her ear. "I could do this all day."

And then the pain continued.


	3. Chapter 3: Darkness Rising

**Now that the original story is finished, I can focus on this one! :D I'll post the recap next btw. Enjoy and remember to review!**

I suppose the good news regarding Twilight's nightmares was that come morning, she was always her own cheerful self again—if a little bit tired. But today was a special day in her eyes, so even as I stepped reluctantly from my room, the little lavender alicorn came dashing excitedly down the hall.

"Good morning!" Twilight greeted me a little too cheerfully.

I groaned. " 'Good' morning?"

Twilight laughed at me. "Come on! Aren't you excited for Princess Petition Day?"

"Not in the least!"

During my studies of Equestria, I had learned that Princess Petition Day had been established by Celestia almost immediately after the banishment of Nightmare Moon. The reason? To settle disputes that nopony else in Equestria could settle. If two ponies had an argument or a problem that the lower legal systems of Equestria could not or would not settle, the cases would be brought before the princesses. As the sole princess, Celestia had handled these cases by herself for almost a thousand years. Then when Luna was restored and Cadence crowned, the two joined Celestia for this special day. Twilight began to participate as well after her coronation. As Princess of Harmony, I would also be expected to be there.

To say I was not looking forward to it would be an understatement. The last thing I wanted was to sit around on my rear all day listening to ponies complain and argue.

But as an Equestrian princess, it was my new royal duty.

I won't bore you with a description of all the boring stuff I had to do. Mostly I just sat on my throne in my alicorn body, bored out of my mind, dressing the set while Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight handled the majority of the cases. Occasionally they would ask me for advice or my opinion. Of course, as the highest-ranking princess in Equestria, I could overrule their verdicts whenever I wanted. But I seldom had to. These princesses were very wise and rarely needed the perspective of a fifth princess.

So what in the world was I doing there?

Just as I was considering this a sudden burst of magic from the crowd surprised me. But it wasn't just the magic—it was the color.

Dark purple.

Dark magic.

At first it appeared as a tiny ball over the crowd, then condensed into a tentacle that shot straight for Twilight on her throne. The princess was frozen in shock.

I opened my mouth to scream at Twilight, but in a blur of pink, suddenly Cadence was right there. The magical blast hit her full in the abdomen. Her cry of pain echoed through the throne room an instant before she crumpled to the floor.

"Cadence!" Twilight cried in horror.

As the other princesses gathered around their fallen friend, I quickly transformed back into my anthro body and hurried to join them. I quickly saw that Cadence was still alive but unconscious and badly hurt from the blast of dark magic.

Without wasting any time, I placed my hands over her wound and summoned as much healing magic as I could. My hands glowed purple with the Element of Magic—yet nothing happened. No amount of my healing spells could cure Princess Cadence or awaken her.

"Who has done this? Who cast a dark spell upon Princess Cadence?" Luna demanded angrily of the crowd. "Show yourself!"

The crowd parted almost immediately to reveal a familiar face to me. It was a small gray Pegasus with a yellowish mane and slightly crossed eyes, trembling with fear. But the little gray unicorn with a similar mane cowering beneath the larger pony's wing looked even more terrified.

I recognized the Pegasus immediately. She was Derpy Hooves—she had given me the muffin to give to Princess Twilight months earlier. But who was the little unicorn with her?

Derpy and the little one walked closer to the platform where our thrones stood. Once she had reached the edge, Derpy fell on her knees and kissed the ground as the unicorn imitated her. "Princess Armonia," she whimpered, addressing me, "my little daughter Dinky Hooves cast that spell. She's young and is still learning to control her own magic. Her horn is different from other unicorns' and it's just so hard for her. Please, Princess—she didn't mean it!" Derpy was almost in tears.

Dinky continued to cower fearfully below her mother's wing. I couldn't believe my ears. A little unicorn filly—Derpy's daughter, no less—had used dark magic. Very potent dark magic, too.

I turned my back to the crowd for a minute. Twilight hesitantly stood beside me. "What will you do?" she whispered.

"Twilight," I sighed, "remind me what the penalty for using dark magic on an alicorn princess is?"

Twilight hesitated. "Deliberately casting a dark spell on an alicorn princess carries a sentence of death. But I think we can be confident that Dinky truly did it accidentally."

"So what about accidentally?" I pressed.

Twilight gulped. "If the spell is cast accidentally or unknowingly…prison, for life."

I moaned and tried to imagine telling both mother and daughter what Equestrian law demanded. "Aren't there any loopholes? Any chance for pardon or lessened punishment?"

"Only the victim can pardon the guilty one or lessen punishment. The law is very strict upon that." Twilight bit her lip. "And Cadence is still out cold."

I bowed my head. "I can't believe I'm about to do this."

Turning back to the crowd, I waved the royal guards nearer. "With deep regret, and with the highest respect for Equestrian law," I began, trying not to look at the terrified Derpy and Dinky, "I sentence Dinky Hooves to prison until Princess Cadence may voice her judgment on what has happened."

The terrified filly began to wail as Derpy tried to comfort her child. The royal guards moved in to take Dinky away. The Pegasus suddenly threw herself directly at my feet. "Let me go with her! Please!"

"Of course," I whispered. "I'm sorry, Derpy." Without giving her a chance to respond, I turned and ran away from that horrible place.

I couldn't let anypony see my tears.

I closed myself into a small room down the hallway and cried quietly until I could force myself to calm down. The most maddening part of this whole situation was that we all knew Cadence would pardon Dinky in a heartbeat, or at least lighten the sentence dramatically. We all knew it—and yet we other princesses had not been the victim of this dark spell and couldn't make the ruling in Cadence's place. Imprisoning Dinky may have been what Equestrian law demanded.

But was it really the right thing to do?

* * *

><p>Hours.<p>

Hours of the most excruciating pain anypony in Equestria has ever felt.

Sunset Shimmer's face was streaked with tears she had shed long ago as Sombra's dark magic tormented her over and over. Finally the dark unicorn king faced his prisoner head on. "You've held up this long without cracking. You must know nothing about the lack of a human counterpart for you."

"Thank Celestia, you believe me!" Sunset gasped. She licked her lips with a dry, pasty tongue as she realized how thirsty she was.

Sombra smirked at her. "Don't think you're getting off that easily. I've got plans for you. Do you remember when you 'turned into a raging she-demon', as you put it?"

Sunset clenched her eyes shut helplessly. "Don't do it! Please, don't make me do it again!"

Sombra's cloud moved closer. "Don't worry, dear. You won't feel a thing." To Sunset's horror, the dark cloud seemed to be settling over her body and almost start to fuse with it.

Suddenly all the dark mist retracted and Sombra chuckled. "I was testing you, you fool. It appears that your fear of me gives me ample fuel to take possession of you when I am ready."

"But…what…do…now?" Sunset moaned.

"Why should I tell you?" Sombra mocked her. "I'll leave you for now, honey. But when I am back—oh, the things you'll do in my control!" He dissolved into a cloud again as he laughed in dark triumph.

Sunset's head rolled to one side as she blacked out.

When she finally opened her eyes again with a moan, she realized a lot of time must have passed. Sombra had still not returned. Where he had gone, and what he was doing, Sunset hoped she would never find out.

Suddenly a thought came to her. She couldn't use her unicorn magic with Sombra around—her fear of him and his own dark power snuffed hers out like a candle. But maybe while he was gone…

Charging her horn, Sunset Shimmer found her magic was very weak, but still there. She turned it toward the chains holding her captive and strained, struggling—

Crack!

The chain on her right foreleg snapped, relieving pressure on her shoulder. She cried out in pain as muscles that had been stretched out for hours suddenly relaxed. The sensation was so painful yet so welcome she cried for a moment before trying again. One by one her chains snapped until she lay free on the ground, panting.

Almost immediately she remembered the danger she was in. Sombra could be back at any moment. She had to get out of there—she had to warn the princesses.

Her stiffened, sore muscles refused to let her run, but she trotted as quickly as she could from the site of her torment, hoping to find a way out of the forest and reach the castle before somepony else did.

**Uh-oh...remember to review! Thanks for reading! :)**


	4. Chapter 4: A Mysterious Guest

**Sorry for the shorter chapter. Think of it as a teaser! :P**

Someone knocked on the door of the room where I had sealed myself in. "Go away!" I groaned, not in the mood to see anypony.

Luna's voice answered. "It is I and Celestia."

I closed my eyes. "Fine."

Celestia opened the door with her magic. "Princess Petition Day ended early this year."

"I really didn't want to do that," I whispered. "Dinky didn't do it on purpose! I know she didn't!"

Celestia nodded sorrowfully. "As do I. But nopony is above the law. Not me—not Princess Armonia."

"You did the right thing," Luna tried to encourage me.

"Did I?"

Neither princess answered, and as I walked away from them, neither stopped me.

As disturbed as I was by having to lock Dinky up, something else was bothering me too. I had seldom seen such a powerful burst of dark magic. Only an incredibly powerful pony could pull something like that off. And I knew that no unicorn filly—especially someone with a slightly defective horn like Dinky—could have cast a spell that potent.

It couldn't have been just Dinky.

But…who else could it have been?

Suddenly I realized one person I could talk to for advice. My sister, Savannah. She had lived in the Canterlot Palace ever since I'd brought here her to Equestria, as had Samuel Ford—but I wasn't in the mood to talk to him at the moment, even though we were close friends now.

So of course, who did I meet in the hallway but Samuel Ford himself.

He seemed surprised and even a bit worried when he saw how downcast I looked. "Tara? What happened?"

I closed my eyes sadly. "Dinky Hooves accidentally cast a dark spell on Princess Cadence. Equestrian law demands that I imprison her for life. We all know Cadence would pardon her in a heartbeat, but only the victim can pardon her. And Cadence is unconscious right now."

Samuel raised an eyebrow. "Dinky Hooves? Derpy's daughter? How threatening can she be?"

"She isn't. The spell was clearly an accident. That's what makes this whole thing so frustrating! I can't do a thing to save Dinky!"

"Even when her crime was unintentional and comes from an innocent little filly?"

"Despite all that!" I groaned.

"But you're Princess Armonia! You have more authority and magic powers than the other four princesses combined!" Ford seemed almost incredulous. "Can't you just overrule or ignore the law and do what you think is best?"

"No!" I cried, half angrily and half in despair. "I can't! No one is above Equestrian law, not even me! I'm helpless! I want to save Dinky but I'm just helpless! You were a police officer—surely you know how that feels, to be helpless!"

Samuel froze for an instant as he seemed to have a brief flashback. His eyes turning dark, he looked awkwardly at the floor and shifted his feet. "Trust me," he mumbled, "I know."

Needless to say, this intrigued me. But before I could ask for him to elaborate, a Pegasus guard hurried up behind me. "Princess!" he cried. "The guards at the main gate are looking for you!"

"What's the matter?" I demanded as I hurried after him.

"Somepony strange just showed up at the gates and passed out. We don't know who she is!"

"Is that all?" I asked in annoyance and stopped running. "Have Flash Sentry or Shining Armor check it out."

"They're both there already, Your Highness. Neither of them has been able to identify her."

I sighed. This was the last thing I wanted to do, but I guess after cutting Princess Petition Day short, I had to make it up somehow.

Reluctantly I followed the guard the rest of the way down to the gate, where a crowd of ponies in armor thronged in a tight circle. They quickly broke up and stood at attention as I approached.

"What happened? Who showed up?" I asked.

Then I saw her.

She was a unicorn lying unconscious on the ground, her mouth slightly open. The poor thing looked like she had been through quite an ordeal. Her body was covered in bleeding cuts and bruises, and her mane and tail were matted, snarled messes. Yet even in this state she looked familiar.

Then it hit me. That red and blond streaked mane and tail…

"Sunset Shimmer!" I whispered.

Questions raced through my mind. Why had she returned to Equestria? What had happened to her? Why was she so desperate to reach the palace before passing out? What had she done?

"Get her into the palace and call the doctors right away!" I ordered. Two unicorn nurses hurried to my side and levitated the ragged pony onto a stretcher.

Before they took her away I looked down at her. My last memories of actually seeing her were her telling her amazing but crazy stories of pony magic and portals to other worlds. Of course, I now believed those stories to be completely true—I had lived in that alternate world for months as a princess.

And now Sunset Shimmer had returned to that world.

But why now?

Savannah soon joined me in the room where Sunset Shimmer had been laid as the doctors treated her. My big sister looked from me to the unicorn in confusion. "What's going on?"

I was genuinely surprised to hear that. "Don't you recognize her?"

"No…oh my gosh! That's Sunset as a unicorn, isn't it?!" Savannah's eyes widened dramatically.

"It sure is."

"Poor thing! What happened to her?"

"Search me! We won't know until she wakes up."

Savannah sat next to me silently as we both watched Sunset breathe peacefully in her sleep, both of us knowing whatever happened to her had been horrible—both of us knowing she may never wake up.

**SUSPENSE! XD I should have mentioned earlier that I've decided to accept OCs for this story! :D Here's the rules:**

**1. I will not accept more than four OCs.**

**2. Just because you submit an OC, doesn't guarantee your inclusion. (I will select the four most cool OCs for inclusion.)**

**3. If you want to submit an OC, PM me with your OC's name, description, personality, and backstory. Also include an equivalent OC and the information that would be relevant if he lived in the Equestria Girls universe.**

**4. Guests can submit an OC through a review if they include the same information a member here would.**

**5. OCs submitted on or after January 6 will not be included.**

**6. Have fun and send me some awesome OCs! :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Savannah's Vision

**Sorry for the delay, guys. Worked really hard on this chapter! :D**

Hours passed and still poor Sunset did not awake. Celestia's sun gradually began dipping toward the horizon. By now I was getting hungry—supper would be on the table in the dining hall by now, but I hadn't been in the mood to eat with what had happened that morning. Accordingly, I had skipped lunch—and now I was feeling the consequences.

"Savannah, I'm going to get something to eat," I whispered so as not to disturb Sunset and slowly got up.

But as I reached for the door, it opened on its own with magic. A unicorn attendant levitating a tray with two plates of food walked into the small bedroom. "Princess Celestia sent me to bring these to you and your sister, princess."

"Thank you," I smiled and took the tray from him.

"Oh," the unicorn added, "and your friend Sam wants to talk to you."

"Oh boy," I murmured.

"Want me to come, sis?" Savannah asked.

"No, thanks. This is one conversation I need to handle on my own."

Sam was waiting for me in the hallway, still in his police uniform, looking rather unhappy. "Tara, we need to talk."

"This is about Dinky, isn't it?" I sighed and looked at the floor.

"You know perfectly well it is."

"I told you," I whispered, "I didn't want to do that. None of us princesses did. But we don't have a choice. We have to enforce Equestrian laws."

Samuel looked down at me, a little intimidating when he stood at his full height. The sun gleamed on the American flag pin on his collar. "I've never heard of a free nation whose laws demanded that an accused person be imprisoned for life, without trial."

"We'll give her a trial!" I cried. "I'm just not exactly champing at the bit—" I realized that wasn't the best idiom to use in Equestria. 'I'm just not excited to perform that trial as long as Cadence can't pardon her! Would you be?"

"Are you trying to tell me something, Tara?"

"Are you really that clueless?!" I demanded. "I imprisoned her to protect her!"

Samuel raised an eyebrow. "How in the world can throwing an innocent little filly in prison protect her?"

"By now the rumors of what happened are all over Equestria. Everypony must be furious at little Dinky for doing this. As soon as Cadence wakes up, I know Dinky will be free and completely pardoned. But for now, if I let her off the hook, everypony will say I'm not enforcing one of the most important laws on our books. Plus, those who are angry at Dinky for her mistake could try to…harm her. If Princess Cadence pardons her, then we princesses can use our authority to protect Dinky if anyone tries to hurt her."

Sam still seemed uncertain but didn't look as angry with me now. I couldn't exactly blame him. Back in Mount Christopher, in the human realm, his department had a special requirement from every police officer. Their oath of honor required that they promise to uphold and honor the US Constitution. And he and I both knew that the Constitution promised a speedy and public trial to anyone accused of a crime. While the Constitution didn't exist in Equestria, most of its concepts did. A public trial was certainly one of them—but I wasn't eager to hold Dinky's trial just yet.

"I'm sorry to explode on you like that," I apologized.

Sam nodded. "It's okay, Tara. I know this has to be hard for you."

"You have no idea how bad it feels to just stand there," I whispered, "wanting to do something, anything, to fix it…but knowing you can't do anything."

Samuel looked at his feet uncomfortably. "I might."

"What do you mean?"

He hesitated. "I…sorry. I don't think you should know."

By now I was worried. "Did something happen? Did somepony hurt you?"

"No," he insisted quickly. "Just…I can't tell anyone about it."

Savannah peeked through the door into the hallway. "Tara?"

"I'd better talk to her," I told Sam and rejoined my sister. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I wanted to ask if you wanted some milk with your dinner."

"No, thanks. But where did you get milk anyway?"

Savannah frowned. "That's a little odd. It was sitting in a little bottle on the shelf over there."

"Wait…what bottle did you grab?"

Savannah handed me a nearly-empty flask of a white liquid. "This one."

I stared at her with huge eyes. "Oh my gosh! You drank all of that?!"

"I was thirsty! What? It's just milk!" She seemed nervous now. "Isn't it?"

I facepalmed. "Six months in Equestria, and you still haven't figured out that a flask of mysterious unlabeled liquid on a shelf could be magical?"

"Why?" Savannah looked really nervous now. "What did I drink?"

"Time spell potion!"

"What does that—" Suddenly Savannah's eyes turned bright white and glowed with magic as she stared straight at the wall. And then in a burst of white magic, she just disappeared into thin air.

"Savannah!" I cried but I knew she couldn't hear me. The potion she had drank was similar to what Twilight had drunk a while back to give her visions of Luna's banishment—but this potion was slightly different. Instead of giving the drinker flashbacks of the past, this potion actually temporarily zapped the drinker into the future—sort of like the time spell Twilight had used.

At any rate, Savannah had just been zapped into the future and whatever she saw, I knew she would likely be convinced it was reality when she came back. I didn't know what she was seeing but I couldn't let her react violently to it.

"Twilight!" I called. "Come quick!"

I had to shout a few more times before my favorite alicorn burst into the room. "What's going on?"

"Savannah drank the time spell potion," I groaned.

Twilight looked at me in horror. "How much?"

"Almost the whole bottle!" I nodded to the flask and Twilight gasped. "How long ago did she drink all of that?"

"About a minute by now!"

"Then the spell should wear off any second. Just be patient."

It certainly felt like an eternity, but Savannah eventually did reappear with her eyes still aglow. To my immense relief, the glow faded from her eyes and she blinked in confusion. "What just happened?"

"You drank the potion and got zapped into the future," I explained.

"Are you okay?" Twilight added.

Savannah's eyes moistened again. "No. I saw…oh my gosh…it was so awful."

"Tell me," Twilight prodded gently.

My sister glanced uneasily toward the still unconscious Sunset Shimmer. "I saw…death and destruction. And Sunset Shimmer in her demon form."

Twilight gasped in horror.

"And I saw something else…a dark cloud that a followed her around…and this glow in her eyes. A creepy greenish glow. It didn't look natural to her."

"What does that mean?" I asked Twilight.

The little alicorn glanced from me to my sister to the unicorn on the bed. "It means that Sunset had better wake up soon."

"Please tell me that's not really the future! Is that only a vision of what could happen?" Savannah begged.

Twilight bowed her head. "Until the future is now…there is no way to know."

**Remember to review! :D Thanks for reading and God bless! What do you think Savannah saw? :O PM me with your speculations! :D**


	6. Chapter 6: Sunset Awakes

**Having some trouble with these chapters. Should pick up soon though. :)**

All else forgotten, the three of us sat anxiously by Sunset's bed. Well, Savannah didn't. Still frightened about her vision of the future, my sister paced around and around the room so much I was afraid she might wear a groove in the floor. Twilight, meanwhile, searched every available book in the room searching for any clues as to what the time spell potion showed the drinker. I tried to eat my dinner but found that I wasn't as hungry now.

Sunset moaned suddenly and stirred. Instantly all attention in the room focused on her. I placed a gentle hand in the unicorn's mane. "Wake up, Sunset."

"Where…where am I?" she groaned. Her eyes opened and I winced. They were bloodshot with stress and exhaustion.

"You're in Canterlot Castle," Twilight explained.

"Twilight…" Sunset looked back at me. "Tara…Savannah…you're alright?"

"We're fine, Sunset," Savannah assured her gently. "But you don't look so good."

Sunset looked at us pleadingly. "I have to talk to Princess Celestia."

"I'll get her," Twilight offered and hurried from the room.

"Tell Tara," Savannah insisted. "She's the highest princess in Equestria now."

Sunset smiled weakly. "True. I'd bow but I can't sit up."

"Don't worry about that, Sunset Shimmer. Just tell me what happened to you."

Her eyes darkened with fear at the memory. "I was practicing with the Rainbooms back in the human realm, and I got separated from them chasing some music that got away. A student with this green glow in his eyes grabbed me, tied me up, and threw me into the portal to Equestria. When I woke up I was chained down and King Sombra was there."

"Sombra?!" I gasped. "He's still alive?"

"Unfortunately, yes. He told me I didn't have a human counterpart and you, Tara, didn't have a pony counterpart. He said it made sense for you—Armonia—to not have a counterpart, but not for me. He thought I knew something about it and tortured me for hours, but finally he decided I knew nothing. He left and I don't know where he went. But while he was gone, I used what magic I had left to free myself and escape. I made it to the castle gates before I blacked out."

I exchanged a glance with Savannah. "You said the student that grabbed you had a greenish glow in his eyes?"

"Yes…it looked so evil and unnatural."

Savannah gulped. "Sunset Shimmer…I just drank some time spell potion by mistake and saw the future."

"Don't tell her," I interrupted quickly.

Sunset frowned. "No, I want to hear it."

Savannah bit her lip. "I saw you as a she-demon again…with that same glow in your eyes."

The unicorn gasped; I looked at my sister in annoyance. We didn't want to hurt her any more than Sombra already had.

"What does that mean?" Sunset asked in concern.

"I don't know," I answered. I had a suspicion, but I sure hoped it wasn't true. And there was no way I was going to tell Sunset and Savannah that the wicked unicorn king was probably going to have some form of mind control magic at his disposal—if he didn't already.

Princess Celestia entered the room then right behind Twilight. I helped Sunset Shimmer to a sitting position to greet the visitors.

"Princess," Sunset murmured, tears in her eyes. "It's been so long…"

Celestia seemed close to tears herself. "The past is behind us, Sunset Shimmer." As princess and former student hugged, I realized what an emotional moment this was. Sunset had been gone from Equestria for several years, and was now returning—but she hadn't come back of her own free will. Someone had kidnapped her.

As the unicorn poured out her story to the princess, Celestia looked more and more concerned. "You're certain it was King Sombra?"

"Absolutely, Your Highness."

"Well, one thing's for sure," Twilight pointed out. "He's bound to notice anytime now that Sunset escaped, and he'll look for her everywhere. We've got to hide her somewhere for now."

"But where could I hide from him?" Sunset worried.

An idea came to me but I was hesitant. "Well…Sombra wouldn't think we would put you in the dungeon…would he?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Really, Tara?" She seemed to get angry. "Don't you think you've imprisoned enough ponies for one day?!"

"Wha…" Sunset obviously didn't know what had happened with Dinky and I wasn't about to tell her.

"Twilight, I told you, I had to do that!" I snapped in return. "Only Cadence could pardon her!"

"You certainly weren't trying with those healing spells! Even I could have woken her up and I have a fraction of your magic!"

"You couldn't have, Twilight!" I cried.

"How do you know?" she challenged.

"Go try! Be my guest!" As Twilight hurried to take me up on my challenge, I sighed and looked back at Sunset. "I'm sorry. Do you want to try hiding down in the dungeon?"

"Maybe," the unicorn ventured hesitantly.

"Just not yet. She's been through a lot," Savannah urged.

"Okay. Let me know when you're ready to move." I left the room to calm myself again. "Cadence had better wake up soon!" I murmured.

**Remember to drop a review on your way out! God bless and thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7: Prisoners Free

**VERY sorry for the delay, everypony. I just had to spend a long time making this chapter longer than the last one, and making sure that the length was due to excellent content. I believe I succeeded. Enjoy!**

In an amazing stroke of luck, Cadence finally woke up about an hour later, exhausted but unharmed. Twilight's spells didn't revive her—she apparently just woke up on her own.

When a unicorn assigned to watch the princess told me she was awake, I hurried to Cadence's room. She was sitting up in bed and smiled as I entered. But seeing my tense expression, she grew worried herself. "Princess? What's wrong?"

"I…I had to imprison somepony for casting that spell on you."

"Well, who did it?"

"Dinky Hooves—Derpy's daughter."

Cadence's jaw dropped. "What?!"

"I know it was an accident. There's no way Dinky could have done that on her own. But the law says only the victim can pardon the perpetrator. I didn't like it but…I had to put Dinky in the dungeon. The least I could do was let her mother go with her."

Cadence clapped her hooves and an attendant hurried forward. "Take a letter," the crystal princess ordered.

The unicorn attendant levitated a quill and parchment as Cadence spoke. "Let it be known through all of Equestria that Princess Cadence has awakened and has granted Dinky Hooves a full pardon. Anypony who tries to retaliate against her in any way, shape, form, or fashion will be punished. This blemish will be wiped forever from Dinky's record." She then took the quill with her own magic and signed her name, then handed the scroll to a guard. "Have copies of this made and distributed throughout all of Equestria."

As the guard left, Cadence turned to me. "I believe you have two prisoners to free."

I gulped, not too thrilled at the thought of seeing Dinky and Derpy mere hours after I had ordered both of them to prison. But Cadence was right. It was best for me to fix this.

A few minutes later I found myself in my least favorite place in Canterlot Castle—the dungeon door. The Pegasus guards seemed surprised to see me there but I was on a mission. "Which cell are Dinky and Derpy Hooves in?" I demanded.

"I'll show you, princess," one of the guards offered.

'Thank you," I nodded. I wasn't about to show him how relieved I really was to not have to go into the dark, gloomy dungeon by myself.

The armored Pegasus led me through a long hallway, past several empty cells, till we reached one near the end. I could hear the sound of a filly crying quietly and my heart ached.

In the dim light from a torch mounted on the wall, Dinky and her mother were just barely visible. The Pegasus lay on the floor, her crossed eyes moist with sorrow as she hugged the little filly to her chest. Dinky's little face was buried in Derpy's fur. As I approached with the guard, Derpy caught the movement and glanced upwards. Recognizing me, she quickly scrambled to her hooves. Dinky followed suit as she realized what her mother was doing.

I had mentally prepared an official royal speech to tell these two that Cadence had pardoned them, but right then I felt it would be so heartless to tell them anything like that. I was the reason they were there. I was the reason Dinky was crying.

I longed to say something to fix the situation, but words failed me. I shook myself and forced my lips to move. "Princess Cadence woke up and she is alright. She has decreed that you are innocent and free to go."

Derpy smiled and wrapped a gentle wing around her still-sniffling daughter. The guard unlocked the cell door and I raised a hand. "Give us a minute."

He saluted and left.

"Princess," Derpy said in confusion, "I don't understand. Why come here yourself when you could just have one of the guards let us out?"

"Because I had to tell you how sorry I am." Tears began to form in my eyes. Carefully kneeling to the filly's level, I inhaled shakily. "I had no choice but to do it. Equestrian law demands severe penalties for using dark magic on an alicorn, and no exception was made for fillies with horn problems." I reached out to stroke Dinky's mane but she shrank back in fear. Can't say I blamed her. I sighed and continued. "I'm so sorry both of you had to go through this. I just hope you can forgive me."

"I forgive you," little Dinky whispered shyly.

I smiled. "Thank you, little one." I opened my arms. She hesitated, then slowly walked toward me and let me hug her. Derpy watched us with a smile of pure joy.

Soon I let go of the unicorn filly. "You should go before Luna raises the moon." Derpy nodded and bowed in farewell.

I can't tell you how relieved that made me knowing that Dinky was free and all right. But the situation still troubled me. Where had such a powerful burst of dark magic come from anyway? Why had it affected only Dinky?

Suddenly a horrifying thought came to me. When I had accidentally used dark magic months before, it had manifested itself as dark purple energy or lightning bolts. King Sombra's dark magic had very similar colors and behavior. And either one was immensely powerful.

Could Sombra have seized control of Dinky for a brief moment?

There was no way yet to be sure, but it was a horrifying thought. If Sombra could harness and briefly control a unicorn filly with a slightly defective horn, was nopony sacred? Could he control Rarity or Sunset or even—dare I even think it—one of the princesses? What limits would Sombra's power have?

I didn't really want to know.

* * *

><p>The time came for Luna to raise the moon and keep watch over the night. Still Sunset remained in her bed, peacefully asleep. I decided not to move her; she needed time to recover from her ordeal with Sombra. We could try to deal with the problem in the morning.<p>

But I couldn't settle down, much less sleep. I was far too anxious about what could happen. I paced back and forth in the hallways, muttering to myself. "Sombra's alive? I thought my Armonia spell destroyed him forever! He's just a unicorn anyway! How can he be practically immortal and keep coming back after being defeated three times? Three stinking times! And he's still coming back?"

A door opened behind me. "Princess Armonia?"

It was Luna, looking at me from the balcony where she stood guard while Equestria slept. I sighed. "I'm sorry, Luna. Did I disturb you?"

Luna shook her head and smiled. "I would just like to know what has made you so anxious."

I explained about Sunset Shimmer and her encounter with Sombra. Luna's frown grew deeper as she listened wordlessly. Even when I finished she didn't speak.

"You and Celestia defeated him a thousand years ago," I recalled, "and then Twilight and Cadence defeated him again when the Crystal Empire reappeared. Then I turned into Armonia and defeated him again six months ago. That's twice he's been struck with Elemental magic and once defeated by the Crystal Heart. And the first defeat was over a millennium ago. How is he still alive, much less still powerful enough to keep coming back?"

Luna shook her head. "I do not know." She gazed up at her full moon. "But I do know that if he has the power to keep returning, we must maintain the power to keep banishing him back to the frozen tundra of the North."

"But maybe that won't be enough this time. If he had enough dark magic to enter the human world and use a student to kidnap Sunset Shimmer, we've got to find a way to limit his power so it doesn't happen again."

**Dun-dun-DUUUN! XD Just a reminder: my OC contest ends midnight central Pacific time on January 5. So far I've received two OC candidates. I'm waiting for more! :D And drop a review before you leave! God bless and thanks for reading, as always!**


	8. Chapter 8: Magic of Dreams

**Enjoy the chapter! :D This is also a notification that the OC contest is over. I will announce the winners (everyone, since there were only four OCs given to me :P ) and begin to write them in soon. Meanwhile, enjoy! And credit to Fist of Enmity for helping me write the dream sequence and Tara's conversation with Sam-thanks man! **

I stayed out on the balcony with Luna for a good half hour before finally deciding to turn in for the night. But on my way back to bed I saw a flickering light coming from under Sam's door. His room was just down the hall from mine and across from Savannah's, since I had wanted to keep us three humans close together. But the light puzzled me. Everypony else had been in bed long ago (except for Luna). Why would Sam be up so late?

I knocked on the door. "Sam? Is everything okay in there?"

"Yeah," came a groggy reply.

Needless to say, I wasn't buying it. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," he answered a little more emphatically.

"If you say so…goodnight." He didn't reply.

Carefully tiptoeing back to the balcony, I tugged Luna's tail gently to get her attention. "Luna, I have a job for you."

The princess of the night looked at me expectantly.

"My friend Sam has been acting strangely lately. He acts like something's bothering him, and just now I passed his room and saw he's awake. It's nearly midnight, for pony's sake! Why would he still be up?"

"What do you wish me to do?" Luna asked.

"He's got to fall asleep again sometime. When he does, I want you to enter his dreams and tell me everything you see."

"Enter another human's dream?" Luna repeated uncertainly. "Princess, it was very difficult to enter your sister's dreams. I do not know that I could do it again."

"But you had to enter the human realm to do that. Sam's right here in the Canterlot Palace. Please, Luna. Something is bothering him and I want to help him."

Luna nodded reluctantly. "Very well. On one condition." She smiled playfully. "That Princess Armonia get some sleep before my sister raises the sun."

"Of course," I promised with a chuckle.

Almost as soon as the sun blazed in the sky the next morning, I searched the castle relentlessly looking for Luna. Finally I found her on her way to breakfast.

"What did you see?" I asked.

She immediately understood I meant Samuel's dream. But to my surprise, she seemed confused and a little sad. "It appears a friend of Samuel's died while he watched helplessly."

Taken aback, I pondered this. That would rattle anybody for years after the fact. "How…what happened?" I asked.

Luna shook her head sadly. "I am sorry, princess. I am not familiar with the human imagery I witnessed. I saw the small black weapon Samuel carries with him—"

"His handgun?"

"If that is what you humans call it, yes, his handgun. It was fired at least once. But the rest I am not sure of."

"Well then…" I tried to decide what to do here. Sam obviously needed help recovering from what had happened to him. Luna's attempt to gather information from his dream had largely failed. Human imagery and technology was so foreign to her, it was nearly impossible for her to process the dream.

Then I realized something crucial. While technology was strange and mysterious to Luna…it wasn't to me.

As the highest alicorn princess, carrying inside me the power of all six Elements of Harmony and more magic than the other four princesses put together, could I enter a dream?

It was certainly a stretch. But I knew it had to be done.

* * *

><p>The day was largely uneventful. Sunset Shimmer was still recovering and the doctor advised against moving her. Savannah spent the day with Princess Cadence; I never did find out what they were doing. Twilight went back to Ponyville for Fluttershy's birthday party, promising to bring me one of Pinkie's amazing cupcakes. Celestia spoke with dignitaries from around Equestria, with Luna by her side.<p>

Meanwhile, with little to do, I spent my time pacing around the castle. I admit there were times I was so anxious for the night to come and for me to test my dream magic that I grew a little mischievous. I actually tried my hand at moving the sun. While not as disastrous as Twilight's attempt, my solar magic was not as perfect as Celestia's. After all, she had raised the sun for over a thousand years and though I had the power to do the same, it was definitely not practiced power. Finally I decided to leave well enough alone and just wait for Luna's turn.

Finally, as the moon graced the sky and ponies everywhere went to bed, I stood at the door of my room. It was cracked just enough that I could see into the hall. There I stood, patiently waiting for my signal.

After the longest time, I saw the candlelight cease from under Sam's door. I gave him about an hour to fall asleep, then tested my dream magic for the very first time.

At first I felt overwhelmed by dizziness. As I lay down in bed to recover, my eyes closed and suddenly I felt magic flowing through me. It was like standing in a stream of hot water, but it was inside me—flowing through my whole body, pulsing gently with each heartbeat, tingling all over, warming me inside and out. It was easily the most amazing feeling I had ever experienced.

And then it was over.

I opened my eyes to see a silver crescent moon—Luna's cutie mark—resting in my hands. I was confused at first since I knew that had not been there before. Then I realized—this had to be something connected with the dream magic.

"Show me Samuel Ford's dream," I told the flashing moon.

The mirror-like crescent suddenly displayed an image of two uniformed police officers standing beside a patrol car, talking to each other excitedly. One of the men was definitely a younger Sam. The other I didn't recognize.

"Hey, Sam—look at this! The department got you a graduation present!"

"It's…new," Sam observed as he stared at the vehicle.

"What'd you think you'd be driving? Some outdated Vic?" The second officer laughed. "C'mon, let's take 'er for a spin!"

The two continued to talk but I barely heard. My stomach was knotting up uneasily. Luna had told me that a friend of Sam's had died. Was this second officer the one? What was about to happen?

"Thanks, Jacob," I heard Sam say. "It's a good feeling to finally be here. You know, done with probation and everything."

The second officer, Jacob, nodded. "I know what you mean. I'll never forget my first day." He chortled. "I got pepper-sprayed and bit by a dog."

Sam looked at his friend in surprise. "What? You never told me that."

"I was saving that for your first day." Jacob winked. "Have fun."

As nervous as I was, I couldn't help chuckling at that.

For five almost excruciating minutes, as I worried in anticipation of what was coming, Sam's dream progressed at an almost peaceful pace. He was driving in the patrol car and finally pulled up to a restaurant. A second car pulled up beside his and I recognized Jacob getting out. Both of them went in, presumably to get some lunch.

My stomach churned now. Looking back, I know that my anxiety came from a feeling of helplessness and fearful anticipation. It's the same kind of feeling you get when the hero in your favorite movie walks into a dark alley, and you know there's bad guys or maybe even a monster waiting to jump him, but he doesn't know and you can't help him. At that moment, I would have given anything to stop the nightmare, but I didn't know how. I was only watching it on a magical cutie-mark-moon and I had no idea how Luna used her magic to actually step into a dream while it was happening. So I watched, and waited.

Suddenly things in the dream began to pick up. "Jacob!" Sam shouted as he drew his pistol and ran for the door of the restaurant. His comrade followed him rapidly as both quickly but cautiously approached a man standing calmly in the square, holding a rifle in his hands.

"Police!" Jacob shouted. The man didn't move. "Police! Drop your weapon!"

The man stood like a statue.

"Drop it now!" Jacob aimed his pistol at the man.

Without warning the man raised his gun and fired. Even in the dream, the loud crack startled me and I jumped in fright. I almost jumped a second time as a second crack—Sam's gun—went off and killed the aggressor with the rifle.

Sam held down his microphone clip. "Dispatch, Four Echo Niner, Signal Twenty-Five and Fifty at Stanford Square. Requesting Signal Four, over."

I was even less familiar with police jargon than Luna, so that statement made absolutely no sense to me. But that was forgotten as Sam turned around.

Lying on his back on the pavement, his face contorted in pain, was Jacob.

The shot had hit him in the abdomen.

Sam froze for an instant before his instincts seemed to kick in. "Jacob!" he shouted and dropped to his knees beside his friend. "Dispatch, officer down! I need an ambulance!" he shouted into his microphone, then ripped open a package of gauze and pressed it against the wound.

"This really hurts!" Jacob groaned and I cringed, wishing I had been there with my healing spells.

"There's an ambulance coming, hang on!" Sam almost begged of his friend.

I could hear a distant siren, but I knew that the emergency responders would not arrive in time to save the fallen officer. Jacob's chest was still rising and falling, but it was growing slower.

His eyes opened. "Sam," he whispered in a frighteningly calm voice.

Sam looked down at Jacob with helpless tears in his eyes. Jacob made one last visible effort to speak. Then, with a sigh, his chest fell for the last time. His head leaned back against the road.

The image slowly faded until I was left holding just a silver crescent. Sam must have finally awoken and his nightmare ceased.

Shaken, I slowly released my dream magic until the moon in my hands melted into thin air. A glance out the window told me night was nearly gone. Celestia must be raising the first rays of dawn—that was why Sam had woken up.

So this was why my friend had dropped those hints about being helpless. He had been. Watching your best friend die, knowing there's nothing you can do to save him, was far worse than what I had experienced with Dinky. Strange…it was as if Sam had wanted to tell me, but had something holding him back.

But speculations aside, now that I knew what he had been dreaming, I knew I could help him get through it.

And I knew I had to be the one to do it.

After a brief breakfast, I found Samuel Ford in the Canterlot library, where he had spent a lot of his spare time, trying to learn as much about Equestria as he could. Cautiously, not quite sure what to expect, I approached him. "Sam?"

"Hello, Tara." He glanced up briefly, and instantly recognized I was distressed. He stood up from the table, instantly alert. "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk," I said. "About your nightmare."

Sam's eyes dropped for just a fraction of a second. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I shook my head. "You've been dreaming for several nights now of watching your best friend die. Jacob, I think his name was."

Sam tensed. "How do you know that?!"

I looked down in slight shame, and spoke softly. "I… I saw something was wrong, so I asked Luna to enter your dream and report to me."

Sam inhaled in preparation to speak, but I went on without giving him a chance. "She didn't understand much of what she saw, only that a friend of yours died."

I paused. "I used her dream magic to see the nightmare myself, when you were asleep last night."

"You… you did what?!" Sam exploded, his voice booming. "You used your freaky magic to get inside my head?!"

"I wanted to know! I wanted to help you!" I defended myself.

Sam hissed angrily and stormed over to a window. He stared out it for a second, before slamming his fist into the windowsill and taking a step back from it. Ford backed into a wall and slid down it, resting his face against his knees.

I watched him, unsure of what to do. I tried to mentally plan out my next move, preparing some comforting words which all seemed totally inadequate. It took me a second to notice his shoulders were shaking, and a second more to realize he was crying.

Instinctively I darted forward and collapsed beside him. I hesitated for a second, and then wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

Sam finally gritted his teeth together and brought his sobbing under control. He raised his head and looked at me, his red, misty eyes meeting my hazel ones.

"It all happened so fast. We were eating lunch, and then he was on the ground, dying." He took a shaky breath. "I keep wondering, what could I have done differently? How could I have saved him?"

"It wasn't your fault, Sam," I said, trying to encourage him. "You tried to save him—there wasn't anything you could do."

"I could have fired sooner… I could have waited for backup…"

"You did what you were trained to do," I asserted. "Sam… I want to help you through this."

"Then use your all-powerful magic to bring Jacob back."

I shook my head sadly. "Sam, I can't do that. You know I can't; nopony's magic can!"

Sam's face fell back into his knees.

"Listen to me… I saw what happened. It wasn't your fault—nothing you would have done could have saved Jacob. He didn't die because you made a mistake; he died because a crazy gunman murdered him!"

For a long time, he didn't reply. He sat back against the wall, with me silent next to him. Finally though, his head rose and he looked at her.

"Tara…" He noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and shifted his focus—his eyes went wide. "Get down!"

He sprang sideways into me, throwing me to the ground moments before a jet of dark purple energy shot through the open window, blowing a crater in the wall where I had been crouched.

In an instant, Samuel Ford was up, gun in hand, rushing to the window.


	9. Chapter 9: My Pony Counterpart

**I'm hoping to begin unravelling the mystery revealed in chapter 2 very soon! :D Thanks to all of you who submitted OCs, your OCs are, in Rainbow Dash's words, "So awesome!" I have plans for them and will incorporate them shortly. Enjoy this chapter! :D**

I just sat there in shock for a moment. If Sam hadn't showed me out of the way…

Quickly shaking myself, I joined him at the window and my jaw dropped. An army of shadow ponies was surrounding Canterlot Palace, scattering ponies in the streets left and right.

Sam aimed at one of the shadow ponies but I grabbed his wrist. "Don't! Your bullets can't hurt them!"

"What are those things?!" he demanded.

"Shadow ponies! They're products of King Sombra's dark magic."

"Well, what are they doing here?!"

"They must be after Sunset Shimmer!" I gasped. "We've got to protect her! Come on!"

"What can I do without magic?!" Sam demanded.

"Tell the royal guards to prepare for battle!" I dashed down the hall before he could reply.

As I ran, I worked my magic to transform into my half-alicorn body so I could fly. Royal guards dashed around me without acknowledging my presence—I guess they figured I could defend myself. And I was fully capable of doing so. It was the others in the palace that I worried about.

But I was surprised to find Sunset Shimmer's room untouched. Several guards had positioned themselves around the wounded unicorn but she was not in any danger, from all appearances.

Then I heard a shriek from my sister's room.

My heart skipped a beat. "Savannah!"

With a snap of my fingers I teleported to Savannah's room. At least half a dozen shadow ponies were there, hissing menacingly and swiping long, clawed hooves at my sister. She had armed herself with a vase from the shelf but every swing merely made the weapon pass right through the nightmarish creatures.

Her head snapped toward me as I appeared. "Tara! Help!"

"Hold on!" I knew in my anthro form, I could summon just enough magic to frighten these creatures away. Pumping my wings, I hovered just below the ceiling and clenched each hand into a fist. Glowing golden orbs of magic formed around my fists and my whole body trembled with the energy building up. Finally, with a cry, I brought my hands together and in front of me. In a glorious display of Elemental magic, a stream of blindingly bright golden energy struck my sister's attackers full force. The evil creatures howled in pain as light met darkness and the shadow ponies dissolved in puffs of black smoke.

Savannah panted as I lowered myself to the floor. "You okay?" I asked.

My sister looked at me wide-eyed. "Yeah." Then she grinned. "You were awesome! Your eyes turned white with all that magic and your hands were glowing and—"

"No time!" I interrupted. "Stay here and stay safe." I summoned more magic in preparation to teleport again.

Without warning, another jet of dark magic blasted through the window behind my sister. This time, with no one to push me down and no way to know it was coming, I wasn't as lucky. The blast caught me full in the chest. Searing pain tore through my body and I fell with a scream.

I heard Savannah shout my name as pain blinded me. With the last bit of magic I could muster, I grabbed her with a levitation spell and pulled her close to me. Then, gasping, I created an impenetrable magic barrier around the two of us. Shadow ponies poured through the window and hissed menacingly at us, prowling like timberwolves, but we were safe. At least we were as long as I could keep the barrier going.

"Are you alright?" Savannah demanded.

"Don't worry about it," I gasped, barely able to talk as all my focus went into maintaining the barrier.

Savannah huddled closer to me, letting me shrink our shield a little, as the shadow ponies tried unsuccessfully to break through.

Suddenly a blast of dark blue magic drove the shadow ponies away. Princess Luna hurried into the room with a look of concern on her face.

With a cry of relief I dropped the barrier. "Luna! Thank goodness!"

"The royal guards are taking care of the other attackers, princess," Luna informed me. "Are you hurt?"

"I was hit with dark magic in the chest," I grunted at the memory, "but all it did was give me a bruise."

"Either that magic was weak or yours is strong, sis," Savannah chuckled wryly.

"Mine is much stronger. That's why it didn't hurt me too badly. It could have destroyed anypony else." I frowned. "Which makes me wonder. Why were they here if they weren't after Sunset?"

"If the first blast was aimed at you, were they trying to target the highest princess in Equestria and only her?" Savannah wondered.

"I don't know. But I'm not going to take any chances." I pointed at a royal guard who had followed Luna. "Make sure all the shadow ponies have been chased away or destroyed. Once you're positive we're safe, I want a guard—no, two guards—assigned to Sunset Shimmer. Make them a unicorn and a Pegasus. I want another unicorn and a Pegasus to guard my sister, and a pair for Samuel Ford."

"Why a unicorn and a Pegasus?" Savannah asked in confusion.

"Unicorns so they can fight magic with magic, and a Pegasus so you can fly."

The guard hesitated. "What about you, princess?"

"I think I've got enough magic to defend myself. Oh, and tell Princess Celestia I want her to order Princess Twilight and her friends back here as quickly as possible. Whatever's happening, they aren't safe in Ponyville."

* * *

><p>About half an hour later I was sitting in my own room, practicing defense spells in preparation for what was coming. A knock on the door startled me; a blast of my magic burned a smoking hole in the wall as my aim was thrown off. Annoyed, I sighed. "Who is it?"<p>

"May I come in, princess?" It was Sunset Shimmer's voice.

"Of course."

Sunset's burnt-orange magic opened the door from the outside. Behind her stood a unicorn and a Pegasus in armor—the extra guards I had ordered. Even though I knew I was more than capable of protecting Sunset, I didn't want the guards to leave. "Please wait outside, sirs," I told them. Both saluted in acknowledgement.

I carefully closed the door. "What's up?"

Sunset looked up at me worriedly. "Do you really think King Sombra's trying to kidnap me again?"

"There's no way to tell. But it's a safe bet. Until you escaped, only you knew that he had returned, and only you knew the secret he had discovered about you not having a human counterpart." I frowned. "I should know this, but I don't. Why wouldn't you have a human twin?"

"It's a little bit scary," Sunset admitted. "Did my crossing into the human world change something I shouldn't have changed?"

"I don't think so. I don't have a counterpart here in Equestria either."

"But what does that mean, even? Why would neither of us have a counterpart in the other world? I could understand you not having one—you're Princess Armonia. But why me? What's so special about me?"

"There's lots of special things about you!" I almost laughed.

Sunset smiled. "Well, you know what I mean. It just seems odd that we're both totally unique in both worlds, while everyone else has a twin."

Just then something came to mind. "There are six Elements of Harmony, right?"

Sunset looked at me strangely. "Of course."

"So why were there seven stripes in the rainbow the Rainbooms used to defeat the sirens?"

"Because the red stripe came from me…I've always wondered why. I don't have an Element."

"And the alicorn that appeared was a foretaste of Armonia's magic—of my magic. Right?"

"Right."

"So maybe we're connected somehow!"

"Maybe, but that still wouldn't explain why neither of us has a counterpart. Unless…" Her eyes suddenly sparkled with a radical idea. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" I asked.

"Unless we ARE each other's counterparts!"


	10. Chapter 10: Sombra Rising

**New layer of complexity added here! :D **

This insight from Sunset Shimmer caught me off guard. But I had to admit, it would explain a lot. It would explain why the image of Armonia was only revealed when all seven girls were present, and even possibly the red stripe Sunset's presence added to the rainbow. If she was really the counterpart of the final alicorn princess, it would make sense that her magic would symbolically contribute a seventh Element of Harmony—the very thing that I would later do as Princess Armonia.

"Do you think that's it?" Sunset asked nervously.

"If it is true, if we really are each other's counterparts…whoa." I shook my head in awe. "Then it's no wonder the magic that defeated the sirens was so powerful."

Sunset laughed. "What an honor! The counterpart of the fifth alicorn princess!"

"And I'm honored to be your counterpart, Sunset," I smiled. "I know you did amazing things back in the human world."

Just then both of us heard a slight scuffle outside the door. We looked at each other. Silently, I reached for the door and jerked it open in an instant.

Sunset's guards stood there looking questioningly up at me. "Something wrong, princess?" one asked.

"I heard something out here. Everything alright?"

"I just dropped my helmet, nothing bad there," answered the Pegasus. He did seem to be having trouble with his armor.

"Okay…" Something seemed wrong but I couldn't place it. Probably just my overanxious imagination, I decided and let it go.

A servant suddenly appeared in the hall. "Guards report that Princess Twilight and her friends have arrived, Your Highness."

"Excellent! Have them meet me in the throne room." The servant bowed and hurried away.

The Mane Six beat me there. The moment I walked in I was immediately buried under half a dozen equine bodies each trying to hug me first. Six voices all greeted me almost in perfect sync.

"Girls, I can't breathe," I wheezed. Immediately they all pulled off. All except for Pinkie. I tell you what, that girl thinks hugs fix everything from a sad day to being struck with dark magic, to I don't know what.

"Uh, a little help?" I asked the others as I tried unsuccessfully to pry the pink hooves from around my waist.

"Oops, sorry!" Pinkie released me with a sheepish squee.

As worried as I was about the earlier attack, I couldn't help but smile at Pinkie.

"So what's going on? Why did you call all of us here?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"King Sombra's shadow ponies attacked the castle earlier," I explained. "I just wanted you to all be here so you're safe. There aren't any guards in Ponyville with enough magic to fight off another attack."

"So whut'll we do?" Applejack questioned.

"For now, we'll lay low in the palace and see what happens. All of you practice defending yourselves."

Fluttershy cocked her head. "Um…did anypony else hear that?"

"Hear what, Flutters?" asked a nonchalant Rainbow Dash.

"I hear it too!" Rarity exclaimed.

Quiet scuffling, almost inaudible, came from behind a door leading to a closet. Twilight looked at me fearfully. "Did the shadow ponies hide in there?"

"They may have. Stay back!" I whispered. Charging my hands with magic, I crept toward the door. "One…two…three!" I smashed it in with a blast of golden magic.

To my surprise, four royal guards—two unicorns and two Pegasi—lay there trussed up in black chains glowing a ghostly green. They had been gagged with ropes made from a similar substance—dark magic. Quickly I dropped my magic over them and freed them. "What happened?"

"We were outside the room with you and Sunset Shimmer, Your Highness." One of the unicorns, the self-appointed spokespony, tried to explain. "A dark cloud suddenly appeared around us and we passed out. We woke up in there."

Uh-oh.

"And what about you two?" I asked urgently of the other two.

"We were assigned to Savannah. The same thing happened to us," a Pegasus replied.

Oh, no.

"King Sombra's dark cloud?" I asked.

"That's what it looked like, princess."

"Then those guards with my sister and Sunset are really shadow ponies in disguise—oh my gosh!" Without waiting for a response from anypony, I spread my wings and flew. "Savannah! Sunset Shimmer!"

"Tara, help!" my sister shouted back urgently. Her voice seemed to be coming from the throne room. But what would Sombra be doing there? Unless…

Oh, no—the mirror!

My fears were confirmed when I finally came to the door. King Sombra's dark cloud swirled around the thrones, licking greedily at the mirror. Levitated in the cloud and struggling vainly to escape was Sunset Shimmer—and my sister.

Speeding into the throne room, I charged my most powerful magic in both hands. "Release them, coward!"

My only response was evil laughter. "Oh, you wouldn't dare attack me. Not while I have your sister in my power."

"Tara, please!" she begged before a tentacle of dark magic wrapped around her jaw, silencing her.

"This doesn't involve them, Sombra! Let them go!"

"On the contrary. It involves them very much."

And in a brief burst of dark magic and purple-pink energy from the mirror, he and his prisoners were gone—into the human world.

* * *

><p>Fog hovered like silent ghosts over the asphalt. Flickering streetlights lined the road, but no one was there to appreciate their light. Windows were boarded up along the long-abandoned street, once home to a strip mall. Now it was a gathering of less than savory characters hiding from the law or from gangs.<p>

But three girls, asleep on sleeping bags inside one of the ramshackle stores, were different than the others. And the dark presence outside knew.

A black cloudlike vapor swirled through the broken glass of the window, coming to rest over the sleeping female forms. "Adagio Dazzle," a dark voice whispered. "Aria Blaze. Sonata Dusk. Awaken."

The girls' eyes opened. Two sat up groggily; the third, the tallest, practically leapt to a sitting position. "Who's there?"

A chuckle answered her. "Come now, Adagio. You know me."

The cloud condensed into the form of a unicorn clad in black armor, with a flowing black mane, evil green eyes, and glisteningly sharp white teeth. His horn glowed blood-red, the same color as a cape draped over his back and concealing his cutie mark.

Instantly all three sirens were wide awake. Adagio in particular was in shock. "King Sombra! But how?"

"My magic can do things no princess ever suspected it could. And now, it will do even more."

The dark cloud reappeared, but now three solitary items hovered inside it—three crimson gems.

"Go on, my dears," Sombra encouraged. Each wide-eyed siren reached with trembling hands for a gem.

The moment the gemstone was back around her neck, Sonata instantly tried to sing. "We will be adored—" Immediately she stopped, embarrassed. Her voice was still horrible, as if the gems had never even been restored.

Aria's expression changed from wonder to fury. "What gives? What have you done to our gems?"

"Relax, ladies," the unicorn king purred. "All your magic will be restored in due time. For now, I have a proposal for you three."

"What?" asked the still-cynical Aria.

"In order to have the power I desire in Equestria, I need every drop of the alicorns' magic. Including the tiny amount left here by Princess Twilight Sparkle's crown—the magic left in her human friends. Once I have enough magic from my mission in Equestria, I will restore your voices. And you will use your voices to take the magic left here."

"What's in it for us?" Adagio asked slowly.

"Power. Magic. Ponies that adore you. Unlimited freedom to do whatever you wish. When I am king in Equestria, you three will be my enforcers. And nopony will stand in your way."

The sirens looked at each other greedily.

"Now," Sombra droned, "for your first job." His dark magic formed an image of a human girl. "Find her. Bring her to me. If you can do that, I will pour all of your magic back into your siren gems."

**Who is that girl? Why does Sombra want her? When will I update? :P Probably not for a couple of days, but I'm working hard on this! :D I should mention that any and all suggestions for this story are welcome! Just PM me or leave a review. And as always, God bless and thanks for reading! :D**


	11. Chapter 11: Through the Mirror

**FINALLY! The next chapter! :D And we find out more about what the sirens are up to! OK, no more spoilers. :P Enjoy!**

"There!" Aria whispered to the other sirens. She pointed toward the main door of the local public library.

"Are you positive?" Sonata questioned doubtfully.

Aria rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Would I be pointing her out if I weren't?"

A young woman with dark purple hair tied in a messy bun was coming out, lugging a heavy bag of books with one hand and adjusting her large nerd-type glasses with the other. She was wearing a lab coat—not the best-looking, but well befitting her nerdy appearance. She had all the looks of a serious student.

And she was the one the sirens were looking for.

"Alright girls, positions," Adagio ordered. Sonata rushed to a dumpster behind the library and lay down on the ground, clutching her leg and moaning in mock pain. Aria picked up two boards, pulled off her belt, and pretended to be making a makeshift splint.

Meanwhile Adagio approached the young woman worriedly. "Miss, can I use your phone? Mine's dead and my friend just fell and broke her leg!"

"I guess," the girl answered. "Where is she?"

"By the dumpster. She tripped and fell on the concrete."

"Let me see her. I know about broken bones, I may be able to help."

"Oh, would you?" Adagio asked in feigned gratitude, sneering inwardly.

The unsuspecting girl followed Adagio toward the dumpster. Aria had finished her makeshift splint and even the unexperienced Adagio could see she had done a horrible job. The girl seemed horrified by what she saw. "No, no, no! That's not how to splint her leg!" She knelt and began undoing the belt. "Do it like this!" She laid one of the boards aside and straightened Sonata's leg.

In an instant Adagio grabbed the discarded board and slammed it hard into the girl's scalp. With a brief cry of surprise and pain, the victim crumpled unconscious to the ground.

"Alright," Aria droned in a bored tone, "we got her. Now what?"

"We get her to the location we were shown, and then…" Adagio touched her gem and smirked.

But Sonata was still in the dark—not that that's unusual. "Why's she so special anyway?"

"Because, most pathetic excuse for a siren ever," Adagio groaned, "she happens to be Twilight Sparkle's human counterpart. She will be King Sombra's secret weapon."

"But she doesn't even believe in magic, let alone have any inside her," Aria pouted.

"I don't think it's going to matter." Adagio smirked down at her victim. "She'll believe in magic soon…VERY soon."

* * *

><p>"Twilight! Come quick!" I shouted, unable to look away from the mirror.<p>

Twilight teleported to my side. "What's going—" Before she could finish I scooped her up under one arm and dashed toward the mirror. "Hey! What gives?" she protested.

"Sombra just kidnapped Sunset and Savannah. We've got to stop him!" Quickly I jumped into the portal before the squirming alicorn under my arm could protest.

It had been six months—or in Equestria time, just over five moons—since I had fallen through the hidden portal back in the human world. It hadn't been an experience I cared to repeat. But now I had to do it.

It's easy to describe what the portal's swirling magic looks like. Rainbow colors spiral in a vortex of blinding light, pulling you further and further in, changing you. But describing how it feels is near impossible. Does it hurt? Not really. Is it frightening? It's terrifying. But I don't know what else I can say about it.

At any rate, I soon found myself kneeling on a flat concrete surface beneath a warm sun. Immediately I recognized the building in front of me. We had safely reached Canterlot High!

I glanced over at Twilight and was shocked to see that the pony was gone. In her place was a teenage girl, about my size, with long purple hair and a bright pink highlight. Only a six-pointed pink star on her lavender skirt told me who she really was.

"Twilight?" I ventured.

She looked up at me and chuckled. "I know. Isn't this crazy?"

After a moment I realized that all my anthro features had vanished—I was now a normal human girl again. But I looked like I had just stepped out of a fantasy movie. I may not have had my wings, tail, or pony ears, but I did have the dress Rarity had made for me. If you remember, the fabric was color-shifting between the six colors of the Elements of Harmony, and Rarity had recently added two almost hip-high slits in the front, exposing my legs. I wore white leggings underneath for when I flew, and I was always eternally grateful for that. But I would stand out like a sore thumb here in an outfit like that.

But that wasn't important now. "Any sign of where Sombra went?" I asked Twilight.

"Not that I can see." Twilight motioned to me. "Come on. If anyone saw what happened here by the portal, my human friends probably would have."

But neither of us had any idea that we were within shouting distance of our captured friends.

* * *

><p>"Oh," Sunset groaned, reaching a hand to her throbbing head. Wait a minute…she felt her hand in surprise. "That's not a hoof."<p>

"Sunset? Are you alright?" It was Savannah's voice.

"I think so. But I've turned human again. The only way for that to happen is to go…through the mirror…"

"He must have brought us back into the human world!" A tiny sudden speck of light illuminated Savannah's face. She must have found a little flashlight. "But why? And where are we?"

"I can't tell. It's pitch black in here."

Savannah helped the teenager to her feet. "If we can figure out where we are, maybe we can escape." She shone her pocket flashlight around their prison.

They appeared to be in a spacious, mostly empty room with musical equipment shoved against the walls. "This feels familiar," Sunset mused. "Wait…" She grabbed Savannah's hand and turned the flashlight toward the ceiling, where her suspicions were confirmed. A wooden ceiling with an enormous locked trapdoor greeted her.

"What? Do you know this place?"

"We're underneath the performance stage at Canterlot High," Sunset explained. "I spent a while down here with the Rainbooms right before the battle of the bands. I'll explain the rest later," she added in reply to Savannah's confused expression.

"Well, how'd you get out?"

"There's a door over there."

Once the door was located, both struggled to open it but with no success. Just then a horrible thought struck Sunset. "Maybe he put up a barrier spell."

Savannah looked worried. "What would that do?"

"Well, a low-grade barrier spell just acts like a dome and prevents things from hitting you if you're inside. But a high-grade spell acts like a dome of iron—it's virtually impossible for anyone other than its creator to take down. Anyone on the inside is trapped, plus the barrier is soundproof. We can hear what's going on outside, but no one on the outside can hear us—even if we scream till we faint."

Evil laughter made the two trembling prisoners grab hold of each other. "Right you are, my pretty little unicorn." Sombra's glowing green eyes appeared in a corner and both girls cried out in terror. "Scream all you want. No one will ever hear you. And no one will ever look for you here either."

"Why us?" Savannah groaned.

Sombra laughed. "I don't need to tell you. And you'll know why soon enough."


	12. Chapter 12: The Sirens' Revenge

**WARNING: This chapter contains a descriptive fight scene in the third section. If you are sensitive to blood or just don't like fighting, I suggest you skip the last part.**

Sunset and Savannah remained holding tightly to each other long after Sombra disappeared. Finally Savannah spoke, her voice shaking. "Please tell me you know a spell that can get us out of here!"

Sunset looked down. "As a unicorn, I could have broken a low-grade barrier spell. But this looks like a high-grade barrier and I can't use any magic as a human."

Savannah groaned. "What are we going to do?"

"We just have to hope Tara finds us. She saw Sombra take us through the portal." The fiery-haired girl bit her lip, trying not to cry. "I'm just afraid of what he'll do to us. When he captured me earlier, he talked about turning me back into a she-demon. I think he would have, too, if I hadn't escaped."

"That must be part of why we're here. With no magic, we can't fight him."

Sunset realized her eyes were burning with salty tears. Quickly she forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat before Savannah could notice. "We've just got to hope Tara knows what happened."

Hearing scuffling, Sunset glanced up and in the flickering light of the flashlight, she saw Savannah pressing her ear against the stage wall. "Did you hear something?"

Sunset heard it too—voices. Familiar voices. Joining Savannah at the wall, she listened silently.

* * *

><p>Twilight knew the address of the human Applejack, so it was an easy task to locate her farm. Canterlot in the human world was a small enough town that we could just walk.<p>

"You know, a human body does flatter you, Twilight," I giggled as we followed the route.

Twilight blushed. "Thanks. But I'll take being an alicorn over this any day."

"So do you have any clue what we're going to tell Applejack?"

"The truth! The Element of Honesty doesn't deserve any less." Twilight motioned to my gown. "Especially from the Princess of Harmony herself."

When we finally arrived at the farmhouse door, Twilight knocked with her hoof-fist. I'd expected Applejack to answer, but instead a little girl with red hair and a huge bow opened the door. "Hey! What're y'all doin' here?"

"Is your sister home?" Twilight asked.

"Sure! Gimme a sec."

"That would be the human Applebloom," Twilight whispered as the girl scampered off.

I raised an eyebrow. "She didn't seem fazed about us."

"She fell under the Dazzlings' spell and she saw the counter-spell that defeated them. I think she's seen enough Equestrian magic to not have a problem with it."

We heard the sound of boots thumping along the floor, and soon Applejack appeared. "Twilight! How nice to see ya again!" She hugged Twilight and turned to me. "And who's this?"

"I'm Tara, Princess Armonia to the ponies," I explained.

Applejack smiled brightly. "Of course! I've heard so much about yah. Won't y'all come in?"

"No time! We need you to get everyone together."

The country girl seemed nervous now. "What in tarnation's going on?"

"More dark magic is invading your world and we need a plan of attack."

Needing no further explanation, Applejack pulled out her phone and began dialing.

About half an hour later the girls had all assembled at the agreed-upon meeting place—the portal back into Equestria. As everyone listened in worried silence, I explained what had happened in Equestria and why we had returned.

After a moment of silence Rarity spoke up. "Come to think of it, that would explain why poor Sunset disappeared after our practice…"

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"She brought us some music to try, and the wind blew the sheets everywhere. She ran off to get the papers. We all helped her but she never came back. She just vanished as if she'd been kidnapped."

"Why didn't you call the police?" I asked, surprised they wouldn't have thought of that.

The girls shuffled their feet awkwardly.

"Well, it's not like we want the cops' attention right now," Rainbow admitted.

I raised an eyebrow. "What did you do now?"

"It ain't like that," Applejack quickly explained. "It's just back when yuh first disappeared, the cops were pretty durn sure that you'd been kidnapped. They arrested Sunset because she seemed suspiciously connected, but yer sister got her outta there. Then Savannah went into Equestria and the cops thought she'd been kidnapped too. The state SWAT team and the Mount Christopher police dragged us all in for questioning. We got out 'cause of lack of evidence, but we thought it best to lay low after that."

"I guess I can understand that," I sighed.

"What do you suppose it all means?" Rarity questioned.

"What advantage could Sombra get from coming here? Magic is so much weaker here than Equestria," Rainbow thought aloud.

"Maybe he came for the cake!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Maybe you're crazy," Rarity murmured.

"I don't have a clue why he'd want to come here. But we'd better find out soon." I glanced back toward the portal and sighed. "But how are going to do that?"

* * *

><p>Finally the voices became recognizable.<p>

"Here she is. Now it's your turn," a female voice demanded arrogantly.

The blood drained from Sunset's face. She knew that voice. Adagio Dazzle.

"Ready yourselves," Sombra rumbled. The captives heard the hum of dark magic for several seconds—then quiet. And then the quiet was shattered by three female voices laughing in sinister triumph.

"The sirens," Sunset whispered.

"Now you may assist me, ladies," Sombra purred. "You know my plan, of course. And you know what condition the victims must be in for the plan to work. Go ahead."

The side door into the dark room suddenly banged open. Both prisoners, blinded in the sudden brightness, were too startled to make a run for it. The moment was quickly gone as the door slammed shut and once again all was dark and quiet.

Then a sinister red glow ignited from three gemstone necklaces and illuminated three faces Sunset had hoped to never see again.

Adagio laughed. "It's been a while, Sunset Shimmer…she-demon."

"Leave her alone!" Savannah ordered.

"Permission to punch her," Aria droned.

"Granted," Adagio sneered.

The purple-haired siren grabbed Savannah by the arm and drew back a fist, aiming for the nose. Horrified, Sunset Shimmer couldn't stop herself from speaking up. "What's she ever done to you?"

Aria scowled, not looking away from her victim.

Sunset gulped. "If you want to punch somepony—someone—punch me."

Aria glanced back at Adagio. The tallest siren stepped forward, her face distorted in evil glee. "And I'll join you, Aria. You owe us big, Sunset Shimmer—and we'll make you pay."

"Don't!" Savannah begged. Sonata, the only remaining siren, held the woman by the arms to keep her from helping Sunset.

Sunset gulped and backed up against a wall as the two furious sirens approached, fists clenched, gems glowing ominously. "I'm doing it to protect Savannah," she whispered fiercely.

Aria drew a clenched fist back as far as she could. "This is for picking up that stupid microphone." Then came the first blow—an iron slug in the pit of Sunset's stomach. She hunched over and clenched her teeth, determined not to scream.

"This is for singing that counter-spell against us!" Adagio's fist made contact with Sunset's eye.

"This is for being with those pathetic Rainbooms to begin with!" Aria shoved Sunset to the ground and kicked her in the ribcage.

"And this is for not dropping that microphone and running to hide in some dark closet like the she-demon that you are!" Adagio's boot crashed into Sunset's temple.

"Please!" Sunset gasped, but the sirens were just warming up. The next five minutes turned into a blur of pain as the sirens unleashed all their hatred on her. Blows fell again and again. Sunset tasted her own salty blood mingled with tears. Her own shuddering sobs became indistinguishable from the convulsions sent through her body by each blow from the sirens. As if from a distance, she could hear the sirens laughing, relishing her torment, while Savannah begged them to stop.

After an eternity, Adagio and Aria backed up, panting. "I think she's paid enough for now," Adagio smirked.

"Indeed." Aria kicked at her victim one last time before turning away in disgust. Sunset barely reacted. She had long ago stopped crying—each sob shook her bruised ribs. She could feel bruises all over her body and blood running from her nose. Her eyes, so swollen she could barely open them, would probably be black for weeks. She was barely conscious. But at least the sirens had let her live.

"Oh my gosh, Sunset…" Savannah groaned. Sonata finally released her. The other two sirens strutted with satisfaction out the door, immune to Sombra's barrier spell.

Sunset moaned as footsteps approached her and she slowly forced open her eyes. In the dim red light she saw the third siren—Sonata—standing there silently.

Expecting a punch, Sunset covered her face and whimpered. But nothing came. Sonata just stood there, unmoving.

Finally she turned wordlessly and followed the others out.

Once the door closed again Savannah rushed over to Sunset Shimmer. "Oh no."

Grateful that the dimness concealed her injuries, Sunset shook her head feebly. "It's not so bad, I'll be fine—oh!" She winced as Savannah touched her bloody nose.

"You aren't fine!" Savannah insisted. "We've got to get you some help!"

"From who?" Sunset closed her eyes. "I'll just sleep it off."

"You didn't have to do this," Savannah whispered. "I'm stronger. They could have punched me. You didn't have to let them do this to you for my sake."

"I know. But I didn't want you to feel their wrath."

Savannah wordlessly cradled Sunset's battered head.

**So yeah…the sirens really hate Sunset. I promise this is not violence for violence's sake, this will actually have a purpose later on. Hope I did a good job. Remember to review and as always, thanks for reading and God bless!**


	13. Chapter 13: Terrible Change

**Possible revelation of what Sombra wants with our friends Sunset, Savannah, and Human Twilight...**

"Tara! Don't stand there! Something's about to fall!"

I raised an eyebrow. "How do you know, Pinkie?"

"My knee's a-twitching!"

Immediately I jogged from the balcony I had been standing under, just before a flowerpot blew off the edge and shattered on the ground.

The rest of the Mane Five looked at me in surprise. "Pinkie's pony counterpart has Pinkie sense." I shrugged. "Don't look at me. I don't understand it either."

Pinkie grinned and bounced on.

We had been searching for any leads on what may have happened to Sunset Shimmer and Savannah. But our attempts weren't yielding any results yet. We had spent the last half hour going door to door in the neighborhoods surrounding Canterlot High School, asking if anyone had seen anything suspicious happening on the school grounds. So far no one had.

"Maybe something's wrong in what we're doing," Rarity mused. "Asking about something unusual is rather broad, after all."

"You really think we should ask if they've seen magical displays straight out of a fantasy book?" Rainbow remarked.

"Or sirens!" Pinkie squeaked.

"What if we asked if they'd seen anybody who looked like Sunset and yer sister?" Applejack posed the question directly to me.

"We could. I doubt Sombra would have let anyone here see them, though."

We walked on in silence for a moment. Fluttershy glanced hesitantly toward me and spoke up in her soft, timid voice. "Um…would Sombra have tried to stay close to the portal?"

Having no answer, I glanced over at Twilight. She looked deep in thought. "It's a possibility," she said at last. "Whatever magic he used to get here, he'd have to be constantly drawing energy from Equestria. So it would make sense for him to stick near the portal. But where at Canterlot High could he be hiding?"

"He doesn't have to hide," I pointed out. "He can turn into a cloud or just dark mist. But he'd be hiding Sunset and Savannah."

"Should we go back and look by the portal?" Rainbow thought aloud.

"We can certainly try. Lead the way, girls."

As we followed the others, Twilight leaned in close to me. "Do we even know what we're looking for?" she whispered questioningly.

"I don't know," I confessed.

"So maybe we shouldn't even be looking here. Maybe this was a trick by Sombra to throw us off his trail. What if he didn't actually leave Equestria?"

"You and I saw him go through the mirror, and we went right after him!" I reminded her.

"Yes, but maybe he came back once we got here."

"I don't think so." I looked at her. "Twilight, this is my sister and my pony counterpart we're talking about. I just want to find them."

* * *

><p>Sunset touched a trembling hand to her nose. Her fingers came away sticky with clotting blood—she winced and tried to rub it off on the ground. How long had it been since her beating? Minutes? Hours? She had no clue.<p>

Meanwhile Savannah paced like a caged animal. "There's got to be some way out of here."

Sunset didn't reply.

Abruptly the door opened again and in the blinding light, Sunset thought she saw the outline of Adagio, dragging someone along by the arm. But an instant later the door slammed shut again and all was dark.

"Hello?"

Sunset's blood—at least what was left of it—ran cold.

That voice…

"Is anyone there?" the voice continued, sounding frightened.

"Yes," Savannah replied. Sunset listened to the sound of footsteps as the two tried to find each other in the dark. "Did they grab you too?"

"I think so. One of them told me her friend had broken her leg, and when I tried to help, they knocked me out. I woke up outside the stage and they threw me in here."

Sunset's suspicions were confirmed now.

"Twilight Sparkle?" she asked, her voice hoarse.

"How did you know?" the new girl demanded in surprise.

"I didn't…just suspected it."

"But I thought Twilight was…" Savannah's voice trailed off. "Oh—this is her counterpart, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?!" the new girl demanded, frightened.

"You've got a lot to hear about," Sunset groaned.

Savannah pulled her flashlight out again. "Can you help my friend?" she asked nervously, pointing the light at Sunset.

Human Twilight gasped. "Oh no!" She knelt by Sunset. "I can try, but I'm going to need gauze, water, disinfectant…"

"There may be a first-aid kit down here." Savannah turned away to search, taking the light with her.

"You said I had a lot to hear?" Twilight finally asked.

Sunset gasped. "Yes."

"Do you believe in magic?" Savannah asked from across the dark room.

"Of course not."

"Now would be a good time to start. Those girls who kidnapped you are sirens—magical creatures with the power to charm with their voices."

"I'm familiar enough with mythology to know what sirens are," Twilight answered. "But you're not going to convince me that those girls are sirens."

Sunset sighed; it was clear that this Twilight was just as stubborn and skeptical as the other one. "Well, you'll probably believe it soon enough."

Savannah suddenly reappeared in the dim light. "I found a kit, but it's old."

"It should still work." Human Twilight dug in one of her lab coat pockets and triumphantly retrieved a small water bottle. "They didn't take it!" Quickly she ripped open one of the packages in the box, finding long-since-dried disinfecting wipes. Carefully she wet the cloths from her water bottle. "Okay, this might hurt."

The wipes did sting as Twilight carefully cleaned Sunset's wounds, but the battered girl felt immense relief at the feeling. Savannah joined in, using more of Twilight's water to clean the crusting blood from Sunset's face and soothe her bruises. That was about all they were able to do—but at least it was something.

Suddenly Savannah's flashlight began to flicker. She bit her lip. "The battery must be dying; I'll save it.' She clicked it off, plunging all three captives into total darkness.

Awkward silence reigned; none of the girls knew what to do or what to think.

But it didn't last long.

A deep, eerie groan reverberated through the darkness. "What was that?!" cried a panicking Human Twilight.

"That is the reason we're here," Savannah replied fearfully. "You'll believe in magic now for sure."

"Stop saying that—AHHH!"

Sombra's scowling green eyes appeared again, sending chills down Sunset's spine. "Well, it looks like my pretty little sirens took good care of you, Sunset Shimmer. But they neglected you two."

"What do you want? Why did you let them do this to Sunset?!" Savannah demanded.

"The spell I will use will only work if the victim is unable to resist. Looks as though Sunset is at that point. But you two aren't. Ladies?"

The three sirens stepped forward, grinning evilly, blowing on their fists, their gems aglow. Sunset painfully dragged herself to a sitting position. "No. I won't let you hurt them."

"Sonata," Sombra ordered. Immediately the named siren grabbed Sunset by the arms, painfully pinning them behind her. Too weak to resist, Sunset closed her eyes and tried not to listen to the screams of Savannah and Human Twilight as the sirens landed punch after punch. The girls seemed to be trying to fight back but the sirens with their magic restored were just too strong.

Finally the screams stopped, giving way to groans of pain. Sonata finally released Sunset as Adagio and Aria approached Sombra again.

"Now we can begin." Sombra laughed and moved first toward Human Twilight. Her eyes widening, she tried to scoot away from her position lying on the ground, but she had been so badly beaten she could barely move. Sombra's dark cloud settled into her; she cried out and looked in horror at her hands as the nails grew long, black, and curved.

Sunset suddenly looked up to see the same cloud over her an instant before it descended. The effect seemed identical—her nails began to lengthen and curve, but they turned blood-red. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Sunset realized that in a matter of moments, she would become a she-demon once again.

But the worst treatment seemed reserved for Savannah. The dark cloud hovered in front of her, then swirled into a maelstrom of dark magic—dark purple lightning ignited within the cloud, creating a much more powerful spell than what had been used on Twilight and Sunset. Without warning, a jet of black energy shot from the cloud and straight into Savannah's heart. She screamed in what must have been excruciating pain, thrashing uncontrollably, as the spell emptied itself into her.

Then all was quiet again.


	14. Chapter 14: Dissonatia

Although I wasn't about to admit it to any of the human girls clustered around me, I was terrified of what we might find. And I was on the verge of tears. Sunset Shimmer had become a very special friend to me, but Savannah was far more.

I hadn't told anyone, but she had practically been my surrogate mother for several years. Right after she turned eighteen, I remember our parents having a private conversation with her. I had been twelve at the time—Savannah was six years my elder. I had tried listening at the door but hadn't heard anything. Soon enough, though, I found out what had been said.

A few weeks later, our parents celebrated their anniversary and decided to spend a week in Europe, leaving Savannah in charge. We had been enthusiastic about getting the house to ourselves for a whole week and went out for pizza the first night. I couldn't help but smile at the memory. Savannah was a great sister, always knowing exactly what I would love to do.

But when we got home that night, the phone rang. It was the police—they'd been trying for hours to reach us.

Our parents' plane had gone down over the ocean.

Our week of happiness turned into a blur of preparing for a memorial service and of trying to work through red tape connected to our parents' will. It was then that Savannah finally told me what had happened in that secretive conversation—our parents had told her she was named as my guardian in the will, should something happen. She now legally had all the parental rights Mom and Dad had had only hours before. I loved the idea of getting to stay with my sister, but I was heartbroken that Mom and Dad wouldn't be here to see it.

Mom had owned a small beauty shop, and Savannah struggled to maintain it and keep us in the house. Eventually, with great reluctance, she applied for and received food stamps. She longed to be independent, but the small profits from the beauty shop were barely enough to keep the taxes paid. Grocery bills had to be paid from another source.

For a while we considered selling our family's vacation house down in Mount Christopher—it was expensive enough to maintain our home in Canterlot. Savannah was loathe to sell the vacation house since it was Mom and Dad's first house and had sentimental value, but eventually decided it was worth it to try. She placed the house on the market, but it never sold.

Years passed, and we still lived in dire financial straits. My eighteenth birthday came and went; I went to live in the vacation house to keep it well maintained in case a buyer became interested. Finally, one day, it happened. Days after I turned nineteen, someone expressed interest in our vacation house.

But the next morning I had woken up to the smell of smoke and the shrill scream of the fire alarm. I escaped with just my clothes and the backpack containing the jewelry, later revealed to be the Elements of Harmony—and my cell phone.

I tried to contact Savannah, but she was at work and couldn't answer the phone. Finally I texted her a picture of the jewelry and named the pawn shop where I would try to sell them for money.

The rest, of course, is history.

But now if Savannah was in Sombra's control… I shook myself and forced my legs to keep walking.

We finally arrived at the portal; Pinkie Pie dashed over and stuck her head inside. Almost immediately she pulled her head out, her hair mussed, her eyes googly. "Nothing wrong in there!" she announced in her usual bubbly voice.

"Pinkie, you are so…you!" Rainbow exclaimed, clearly at a loss for words.

"The portal's still open," Twilight mused aloud. "And if Sombra is trying to draw magic out of Equestria, he'd be around here somewhere."

"Excellent deduction!" a voice from above mocked.

As we all looked up in surprise, we saw a winged young woman hovering there above us, with wings that didn't seem to move. Her wings looked like a cross between butterfly and bat wings, and were transparent pink-purple. Her poofy orange-red hair hung down like a tail, and I could see a pair of pony ears. I didn't recognize her, but the glowing red gemstone around her neck told me she was a siren.

And a siren with a functional gemstone is dangerous.

Quickly I summoned my magic to transform back into my anthro body in a flash of light. A flew pumps of my powerful wings brought me face to face with the siren. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.

She laughed. "A better question is, what are YOU doing here? Especially with all those ready to defeat you in the same place?"

"Bring them on!" Magic engulfed my hands in purple auras. The siren smirked an instant before flying into the sky.

Suddenly, with the crash of splintering wood and the roar of dark magic, the performance stage exploded. I could see it happen from my angle high in the air. But what surprised me even more was the three hideous she-demons emerging from the destruction.

All three looked eerily familiar.

But that wasn't important, I decided. These creatures must have been products of Sombra's spells, meaning they were partially responsible for whatever had happened to Sunset and Savannah. I poured all my concentration into my magic, working it stronger and stronger.

The demon on the right, a fiery red and yellow creature with what looked like an anthro pony's tail, growled and shot toward me with her holey wings. I drew my hand back to fling a blast of magic like a ball, but the creature laughed. "Don't even try. You can't hurt me."

"I am Armonia! I have more power than you can ever dream of!"

"And I have almost as much magic as you!" the demon boasted proudly. "You should know that."

My magic didn't waver. "Why?" I demanded.

"Because I am your counterpart!"

Clenching my teeth in fury, I drew my arm back. "You're Sunset Shimmer's doppelganger, aren't you?! What have you done with her?!"

But then I heard Sunset's voice coming from the demon. Those lips didn't move, but I distinctly heard my pony counterpart crying out my name. "Tara! Tara! Help me!"

"Sunset?!" I stared at the creature in shock.

The demon laughed again—this time the lips did move. "She's still fighting. But she's too weak to overcome me."

"Release her! Now!" I ordered, finally throwing the magic in my hand. Laughing in evil glee, the demon simply ducked my spell. I forced her to dodge multiple such spells before finally pausing. Something horrifying had just occurred to me.

If that demon was Sunset…where was Savannah?

I glanced back at the other two, still hovering over the destroyed stage. The larger one suddenly pumped her wings—they looked like alicorn wings, but scaly and curved—and flew directly in front of me. "Finally figuring it out?" she asked in a deep, evil voice dripping with glee.

I gulped, not wanting to acknowledge what I was seeing more and more clearly.

"Who—are you?" I almost whispered.

"I am Dissonatia—I am chaos! I am everything Armonia is not!" The demon's hands glowed with dark purple energy. "And I am as strong as you!"

Giving me no time to react, a blast of her dark magic struck my wing and left a burning wound. With a scream of pain I plunged to the ground, landing on my hands and knees.

The Mane Five and Twilight rushed to my side. "Tara, what's happening up there?!" Applejack demanded.

But I didn't answer her. Blinded by sorrow and rage, I did the only thing I could think of.

Summoning what magic I had left, I engulfed all three she-demons in separate orbs of dark red magic, dragging them down to the ground and trapping them in magical cells of energy. The creatures struggled and growled but they couldn't escape.

"Tara?" Twilight ventured again.

I turned away from her.

Rarity tried to comfort me. "Darling, if you saw something—"

"Leave me alone!" I shouted in sudden anger. The girls drew back in shock. Tears of guilt rose in my eyes but I felt physically unable to apologize.

"Just—just leave me alone!" I tried to fly but my wounded wing hurt too badly for that. As sobs began to shake my body, I dashed back toward the statue and jumped into the portal.

**Looks like Tara's figured out what happened. ****Did you? Let me know in the review (cause of course you're planning to leave a review, right? :P) if you knew from the last chapter what was going to happen. And as always, thanks for reading and God bless! **


	15. Chapter 15: To Equestria and Back

**Kudos to Fist of Enmity for helping me write the dialogue scene between Tara and Sam again. Thanks man! :D**

I emerged from the portal back in Canterlot Castle, crying. Thankfully nopony was there waiting for me to see what was happening.

Sombra had corrupted both my sister and my pony counterpart—the two people I was the most responsible to protect as Princess Armonia. They had both been kidnapped right from under my nose, and then a dark spell had been cast upon them. Their magic was powerful, but I knew Sombra's purpose hadn't been to create super-powerful warriors for me to fight. He could have just conjured up shadow ponies or even ordered the sirens to attack if he wanted that. No—Sunset and Savannah were psychological weapons against me. King Sombra knew that seeing my sister in such a state would incapacitate me emotionally.

Unfortunately, he had succeeded. And now I desperately needed to hide somewhere and let it out.

I wanted to go to my room, but that would require passing the throne room, where the pony Mane Six still were—and I didn't want them to know what had happened. The only other quiet place would be the library. It wasn't the best, but it would have to work. I just hoped Sam wasn't still in there.

To my immense relief, the library was empty. I ran to a comfortable chair in the far corner and collapsed. My fists clenched into tight balls and I shook with suppressed emotion. A sob burst from my throat. Visions of my corrupted sister flashed through my mind and I screamed, angry and heartbroken simultaneously. Finally I just curled up into a ball, my anthro wings wrapped around my head to muffle my weeping.

There was no sound in the library except my mourning for about ten minutes—then I heard the door open. I gritted my teeth, trying to quiet down, and didn't move. With any luck, whoever it was would just select a book and leave without noticing me.

But the footsteps stopped almost immediately. "Tara?"

Just my luck. It was Sam.

I didn't move. "Yeah?" I tried not to let my voice betray me.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine! Just leave me alone." I stood up and tried to walk away, not wanting him to know.

I felt him take hold of my wing and try to pull me back, his fingers brushing the burnt spot left by Savannah's—no, Dissonatia's—attack on me. I couldn't hold back a yelp of pain.

Sam drew back in surprise an instant before seeing the wound. "Tara! What on earth happened?"

I didn't want to tell him. I didn't want to tell anybody. But then I remembered how I had gotten him to open up about his nightmare. Somehow…it seemed that I should give him the same chance he had given me.

Reluctantly I opened my wings and stopped trying to hide behind them. I looked up at him. "Remember when the shadow ponies attacked?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, not all of them were chased off. A few stayed here and kidnapped Sunset Shimmer and Savannah. Sombra took them through the mirror. Twilight and I followed, met up with the girls' human counterparts, and spent hours looking. But when we found them…" It was becoming harder to speak now. "We were too late. Sombra cast a dark spell on them and turned them into monsters." Another tear fell from my eye. "I know he doesn't need more warriors. He's just trying to make me despair so I can't fight him." Tears blurred my sight. "And…it's working."

Sam didn't say a word. I simultaneously wished for him to speak and wanted him to just go away—my thoughts were so jumbled I didn't even know what to think, or what I wanted him to do.

"Can't you just use the Elements of Harmony to free them?" he finally asked.

"I don't know…they may not be enough, at least for Savannah. She's become Dissonatia—chaos—the exact opposite of Armonia, harmony."

Sam looked down. "So use your magic to free her."

"We're evenly matched. We could fight forever and neither would win."

"Are you sure?"

"I—I think so."

Sam looked at me with a hint of disapproval in his eyes. "Did you try taking her on?"

"I used my magic to trap her…I couldn't bring myself to fight her." I felt tears coming on again. "She's my sister! I can't hurt her even if she is evil now!" I let my head fall back into my hands.

Uncomfortable silence hovered like a wet blanket, smothering all possibility of conversation. Finally Sam sighed and broke the silence. "Tara, I know why you're so upset. But you're letting Sombra win if you keep doing this."

"What?!" I demanded.

Sam held up his hands. "Hear me out. You said yourself he's probably just using Sunset and Savannah as emotional weapons against you rather than physical ones. If you allow yourself to get so upset you can't resist him, then he's winning. His plan's already working."

As much as I hated to admit it, Sam was right. But I wasn't about to tell him that.

When I still didn't speak up he seemed almost exasperated. "Look"—he drummed his fingers against the table—"I know you love Savannah. But you can't save her if you're sitting here crying about what happened."

"But I also can't save her if our magic is even and neither of us can win!"

"Tara—" Sam stopped as he saw I was on the verge of tears again. His face softened in understanding. "You're scared." It wasn't a question.

I nodded silently, not trusting myself to speak.

Sam put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you're not in this alone. Twilight and her human friends are there."

"Twilight…oh no!" The memories came flooding back. "I ran off without telling them! Oh my gosh—I told them off! I've got to get back and tell them!"

"Well, you're not going alone."

I glanced sideways at Sam. "What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean? I'm coming with you!"

I looked at him in surprise. "But…the only magic you've got is enough to turn into a Pegasus stallion, and I don't know what to expect from Sombra once we cross over."

"Tara, in case you've forgotten, I'm a trained police officer; danger isn't exactly a foreign concept to me—I'm coming," he repeated.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You seem pretty set on this. Why?"

"I'm not letting you face Sombra and his buddies alone—besides…it's what my cutie mark is telling me."

"Since when did you know what your cutie mark means?"

"I'm in Equestria and I spend all my time in the library. I found a book on cutie marks and it didn't take long to put two and two together."

Of course, I knew what he meant. The first time he had transformed into a Pegasus, I had seen that his cutie mark was a royal shield similar to Shining Armor's, but instead of stars, Sam's shield was emblazoned with my cutie mark—a broken sword floating in a cloud with the colors of all six Elements. Most ponies who knew a lot about cutie marks and their significance said that shields signified protection, to a lesser extent, loyalty. With my cutie mark in the picture, it didn't take much speculation for anypony to guess what Sam's special talent as a pony would be.

I had thought it wasn't too important…but I guess it was. If that was truly what Sam's mark represented, and he knew it, he was willing to fulfill his destiny.

"So are you ready to go through the mirror?" I asked.

He nodded solemnly. "Lead the way."

* * *

><p>Sunset Shimmer had never known it was possible to experience what she was experiencing now. To be able to look through your own eyes but have no control over where they look—to watch your own hands move but be helpless as to what they do—to be at another's mercy and fully aware of it.<p>

She felt as though she was floating in darkness, only able to see what her eyes could see through a small window-like shape in front of her. But other than that, she was helpless.

She could hear the voice of the she-demon Sombra had turned her into—like her own voice, but deeper and more demonic. "Don't even try. You can't hurt me."

"I am Armonia! I have more power than you can ever dream of!"

Sunset looked up in sudden hope. That was Tara out there, her wings keeping her level with her enemy. One hand was engulfed in powerful purple magic and fire blazed in her eyes.

The monster's voice boomed again. "And I have almost as much magic as you! You should know that!"

"Why?!" Tara demanded, still angry.

"Because I am your counterpart!"

As angry as Princess Armonia had been before, now she was furious. "You're Sunset Shimmer's doppelganger, aren't you?!" she demanded. "What have you done with her?!"

"Tara!" Sunset shrieked. Desperately, she tried to reach through the window and touch Tara's face but her hand passed right through the image. "Tara! Help me!"

To the prisoner's surprise, Tara seemed to hear the cry for help. "Sunset?!" she gasped. She turned almost red with fury. "Release her! Now!" The monster ducked the dark spell and flew high into the air.

Sunset's mind was racing. She may not have any control over her doppelganger, but she could at least speak. Somehow she had to be able to use that—somehow she had to stop the dark magic.

But then she thought of Savannah and felt sick. Dark magic spells that took control over a pony were one thing. But whatever had happened to Savannah seemed far worse than anything Sunset had ever learned about back in Equestria. It was almost as if her very nature had been altered—sort of similar to the now laughed-about events when Twilight accidentally switched her friends' cutie marks, but far worse.

"If there's any of the real Savannah left, her only hope is to fight," Sunset whispered. "I hope she knows that." She clenched her fists in determination. "And it's my only hope too."


	16. Chapter 16: Return to Canterlot High

**Next chapter! :D I should say here that I've decided this isn't the best story for OCs. To everyone who submitted: thank you for submitting. I'm sorry I can't use your characters in this story. :( I am planning to continue the Tara saga, so maybe your character will appear in the future, but likely not in here. :(**

As strange as it seemed, Sunset breathed a sigh of immense relief when the demon in which she was imprisoned was pinned to the ground by Tara's spell. At least she'd have a few moments of peace.

But she didn't expect what happened.

A demonic female voice, like her own but dripping with malevolence, echoed through the blackness. "Sunset Shimmer…"

"Who's there?" Sunset asked fearfully.

"Sunset Shimmer…"

"Show yourself!" the terrified girl shouted.

Slowly a monster emerged from the darkness. Sunset's jaw dropped—it was a figure she knew all too well. She had been that creature, once—at the fall formal.

"How—what—you're dead!" she shrieked.

"Evil does not die, Sunset Shimmer," the monster smirked. "It is merely suppressed and pushed out of sight. Twilight may have turned you back into a human. But she did not destroy me. Nopony can." The she-demon flicked Sunset under the chin with a claw. "Sombra merely gave me enough strength to control you again."

"But…the magic of friendship…" Sunset was as confused now as she was frightened. "How can you still be alive if I have the magic of friendship inside me?"

"Twilight had the magic of friendship when she used dark magic in the Crystal Empire," the demon chuckled. "Fluttershy had it when she turned into a vampire bat. The magic of friendship cannot obliterate evil, you fool. You should know that better than anypony else."

Sunset stood tall. "I'm not afraid of you!"

"Maybe not, but can you control me?"

With a hiss of rage, Sunset tried to punch the monster. To her surprise her fist passed right through the creature, throwing her off-balance. As she flailed and tried to right herself, the demon seized her by the arms. "You are afraid, Sunny. Very afraid, in fact." A cold clawed hand ran through Sunset's locks. "You're terrified. You can't control your own body. And you know it."

"Stop," Sunset pleaded.

The clawed hands wrapped around Sunset's throat. "You know you're helpless." The hands squeezed mercilessly; Sunset gulped vainly for air. "And your precious princess can't save you from me!"

Sunset barely heard; she felt ready to black out. Abruptly the creature released her and Sunset dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. She was shaking, terrified of this angel of darkness.

Angel of darkness…

"Angel of darkness," she whispered.

"What?" the demon demanded irritably.

Sunset looked up with determination and deliberately began to sing. "Angel of darkness, angel of darkness,/the world is in your hand, but I will fight until the end…"

The creature kicked her in the stomach and knocked her wind out, forcing her to stop. "You'll need more magic than that," she sneered.

And the monster faded into darkness.

* * *

><p>Sam and I ended up on our hands and knees just outside the portal back at Canterlot High. I glanced with concern at him as he panted and clutched his chest. "Are you okay?"<p>

"I'm fine," he answered. "Just the portal's intense, that's all."

"Tara!" Twilight's voice greeted us.

"Y'all okay?" Applejack asked.

"I'm fine." I glanced at Sam. "You?"

"Falling through a magic portal between dimensions is always a great way to start off my day," he replied with a hint of sarcasm. This surprised me; normally he was much more sarcastic than that.

But I brushed it off. "Just remember you insisted on coming along." I stood up. "So what happened while I was gone?"

"Well, for one thing…" Twilight was obviously reluctant to tell me.

"Applejack? Element of Honesty?"

The country girl turned pink. "Er…"

It must be bad if even the Element of Honesty didn't want to tell me. "What happened?" I demanded in a more forceful tone. "I have to know."

"Um…one of the monsters…sort of…escaped," Fluttershy explained meekly.

"WHAT?!" Powerful Elemental magic sparked in each of my hands. "When? How? Where did she go?"

"About fifteen minutes ago, by making a counter-spell to escape, and I wish I knew," Rainbow Dash pouted.

"Well, she couldn't have gotten far. Unless she had a whole lot of magic, if it was Sava—Dissonatia." I sighed. "But it's a two out of three chance it wasn't her."

The girls didn't move.

"It was her, wasn't it?" My hands clenched into fists; the spells I had been holding dissolved in bursts of rainbow color. "Oh, Sombra—!"

"We don't know where Dissonatia went, but the other two are still here," Twilight interjected quickly. "You can still save them!"

I sighed. "I can try."

Twilight looked at me sympathetically. As a student of magic herself, she definitely knew that if I didn't know what kind of spell was originally cast, producing a counter-spell would be difficult. Even producing a counter-spell for something harmless (like the time Trixie turned Rarity's mane green) was difficult without a basic knowledge of the kind of spell used. Fortunately, Trixie's spells were basic and unimpressive compared to Twilight's, and to those of the princesses.

But even the Princess of Harmony would struggle to undo a spell of which she knew nothing.

"Well, I'll see if I can at least free Sunset Shimmer." Quickly I charged my palm with Elemental magic again. "Let's go."

Pinkie Pie suddenly looked mildly worried. "Uh-oh."

"Whatever is wrong, Pinkie Pie?" Rarity inquired.

"Don't know! I just think the author's got a trick up her sleeve!"

Silence. I blinked. "The what?"

"I think the author's about to make something happen!"

"Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash began, "you—are—so—random!"

I facepalmed and immediately realized that I shouldn't do that when said palm is brimming with powerful magic. Of course it didn't affect me badly—my magic was so powerful it took a lot to hurt me. But it did feel really…weird. It's difficult to describe what a spell like that feels like when you're on the receiving end.

Quickly I shook it off and decided to summon my magic when I reached the stage. "Let's go."

I noticed Pinkie was walking delicately, as if she was worried, and shook my head. That couldn't be Pinkie Sense. And even if it was, I wasn't about to wonder where that comment came from or what it meant. I knew many secrets of Equestrian magic, and I could analyze the most complex and deadly of spells. But I had learned from experience to never question Pinkie Pie.

**Just some good old Pinkie randomness. :P Review and thanks for reading!**


	17. Chapter 17: One Down, Two to Go

"Not a moment too soon, I see," I murmured to myself as we neared the stage. The two remaining trapped demons were struggling against the magical cells I'd created around them. Sunset's demon seemed uncomfortably close to breaking free.

"What are you going to do?" Twilight asked me.

"I'm going to use the most powerful magic I can to try and free both of them. I know for sure the spell will work on Sunset, but I'm not sure about the other one…whoever she is." I charged my palm again. "Give me some room, girls. And Sam, you too," I ordered. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

I pumped my wings and hovered about twenty feet above the trapped monsters. Closing my eyes, I dug deep inside for as much magic as I could find. As the magic of friendship built up inside me, I trembled and knew I had to release it. Quickly raising my hands over my head, I opened my eyes—glowing white with alicorn magic—as the rainbow ray of friendship rained down on the demons below.

I heard yowling and screams as the spell worked its magic—then faded away. Quickly I dropped to the ground, anxious to see if I had succeeded.

To my shock and horror, one of the she-demons stood up and laughed at me—Sunset's demon. "You need more magic than just that, 'princess'," the creature mocked.

"Let Sunset go!" I ordered.

"Take care of your other precious cargo first," the demon smirked. Before I could retaliate her holey wings carried her away as she laughed with evil pleasure.

"Let her go, Tara!" Twilight's voice got my attention. "Look!" She was pointing in astonishment toward the place where the other monster had been trapped.

A young woman was pulling herself to a kneeling position, looking terrified. She had purple hair with a pink highlight pulled into a messy bun, a pair of huge nerdy glasses, and a white lab coat that was now ripped and dirty. I had never seen her before, but she looked so familiar…of course!

"That's got to be your human counterpart, Twilight!" I whispered to her. She seemed very uncertain but nodded assent. "She sure does…look like me."

I walked carefully toward the new girl. "Twilight Sparkle?"

Her head snapped up fearfully. Plainly she was scared of my pony features. "Who are you? What do you want?"

A snap of my fingers turned me fully human again. "Relax, I won't hurt you." I offered her my hand. After a moment's hesitation she accepted it and I pulled her to her feet.

"Now listen. I want you to tell me everything you remember. Who turned you into a monster? How did they do it?"

Human Twilight tried her best to remember. "I don't know who it was. But I do remember a vaporous black cloud that swirled around everywhere, and it looked like there was a pair of green eyes looking out at me from the cloud. There was this deep, scary voice—and it told the three teenage girls who kidnapped me to make me unable to resist. Something about the spell only being able to work if I was helpless. Anyway, the girls kicked and punched me and one of the others (Savannah, I realized as she spoke) and then the dark cloud settled into me. I saw my nails grow out long and turn black. That…that's about all I remember until now."

"Could you see or hear anything when you were under the darkness's control?" I pressed.

"I could hear shouting, like from a distance…but I couldn't understand any of it." Twilight's human counterpart stared at me in a mixture of wonder and mild fear. "But that aside, who are you? How did you save me?"

"It's a long story. And you have to believe in magic to believe my story."

The girl looked to the destroyed stage, to the girls standing behind me, back to me. "I think I believe in magic now."

I had to smile. "Have you heard the stories about all the magical stuff going on at Canterlot High?"

"Some, yes."

"Well, you've got a lot more to hear."

I won't bore you with the long description of everything we told human Twilight. But once we got her to believe that there really was an alternate world called Equestria, filled with magic and wonder, the rest was easy as Pinkie Pie. And yes, I mean Pinkie. She did most of the talking and I thought she would talk the ears off all of us. But whenever she paused to take a breath (every ten minutes or so) the rest of us could get a word in to explain details Pinkie left out.

Princess Twilight and human Twilight still weren't quite sure what to make of each other by the time all was said and done, but I knew they would get along soon enough. It was just a matter of a little time and the friendship magic Twilight loved so much.

But I left most of the explaining to the girls; meanwhile I stared into the sky. My thoughts were with Savannah. Where was she? What was Sombra forcing her to do now?

Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I realized Sam was standing beside me. "You okay?"

"My spell…it failed. I only saved one of Sombra's victims."

"You didn't fail," Sam insisted.

"But what other magic do I have than I can use? If that spell didn't save Sunset Shimmer, nothing short of the Elements of Harmony can. And I can't bring them all here."

"You're the Princess of Harmony; I'm sure you'll figure something out."

**Hey everypony! Sorry for the delay and the short chapter. Writer's block is a horrible curse. :P Anyhow, I'll try to make the next one longer and-**

**Pinkie: Hi there!**

**Me: -_- Not now Pinkie.**

**Pinkie: Oh, don't mind me! I just came to say hi to your MLP plush toys!**

**Me: O-O How did you know about them?! I keep them hidden where no one will ever find them!**

**Pinkie: I know these things!**

**Me: Oh boy...what else do you know?!**

**Pinkie: Well, I know that you sing MLP songs in the car and you watch MLP DVDs at the library when you should be studying and-**

**Me: I think it's time to end this conversation!**


	18. Chapter 18: I Have to Try

We spent the next several hours going over Canterlot with a fine-toothed comb, searching for any signs of the two remaining monsters and of the sirens that we knew had to be around somewhere. But all appeared to be hiding. The sun was now setting, and still the only signs that anything had even happened were the shattered stage and the presence of an extra Twilight.

Princess Twilight, meanwhile, finally pulled me aside. "I think we need to let everyone rest, Tara."

"Rest? What do you mean, rest?"

Twilight began to plead with me. "You and I are alicorns—we're immortal, and we have immense amounts of magic. We of course need sleep too, but—"

"Wait, when did rest become sleep? We can't stop with monsters on the loose!"

"Tara, just listen." Twilight sighed. "I don't want to stop either. You and I don't have to stop. But we do have to let the others rest at some point. They're human; they can't magically sustain their own strength like we can. Give them time."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Let them get at least a little sleep tonight. Come morning they can help us again. Meanwhile we can take turns staying with them to keep them safe. I'll go first if you want to keep looking—we can switch at midnight or so."

"Fine. So what happens now?"

"I'll take care of them. You go looking. And Tara…" Twilight suddenly gave me a quick hug and smiled. "Good luck. I hope you find your sister." Her smile faded slightly. "I can't imagine how I'd feel if something like this happened to Shining Armor."

"If I can bring Sombra to justice, for real this time, you can bet Shining Armor will never experience that." With that I spread my wings and launched myself into the sky.

Once I was airborne, I used a quick spell to turn myself invisible—only Equestrians or people with magic in them could see or hear me now. That kept me safe from onlookers on the ground. Unfortunately, it wouldn't hide me from Sombra or the sirens. Pushing the thought from my mind, I continued to fly and search.

The worst part of my situation, I realized in flight, was the darkness that now settled over the human city of Canterlot. Sombra and his minions, as creatures of darkness, could be anywhere.

Then I saw something. Or rather, I heard it. It was the eerily soothing sound of three young women chanting softly, "Ah, a-ah, ah ahhh…"

No doubt about it, the sirens were attempting to cast another spell. Quickly I spotted their glowing red eyes in the darkness as the three of them hovered just outside an open window. As I drew nearer I could hear a little girl whimpering in the house the sirens were stalking.

That infuriated me. The sirens weren't trying to generate negative energy—now they were just spreading terror. Who wouldn't be afraid of such chanting in the middle of the night?

I swept towards the sirens, eyes aglow, hands flinging Elemental spells as fast as I could generate them. "Leave her alone!" The sirens scattered in what appeared to be genuine fright. I hovered by the window, preparing to follow them and destroy them. But something stopped me.

The whimpers had turned into crying.

The spell in my hand turned from crimson-brown, the color of anger, to pale pink—the color of the Element of Kindness—as I listened to the child. Something changed in me. Sure, I had to stop the sirens…but what about repairing the damage they had done?

I climbed cautiously through the open window and approached the little girl. It was too dark to have seen her without a little of my night-vision magic, which allowed me to see that she was only five or six years old. She had light blond hair pulled into a thick braid down her back, and she wore a blue pajama dress. In the darkness she couldn't see me, only my silhouette, and she pulled back in fear as I approached. "Who are you?" she sniffled.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

She sniffed and pulled the blanket up to her nose. "Were you the one who was trying to scare me?"

"No honey, that wasn't me. I promise." I took one step closer to her bed and stepped on something soft. Glancing down, I realized a teddy bear was lying on her carpet.

An idea came to me. Picking up the teddy bear, I extended it reassuringly to the little girl. "Teddy's still scared though. Can you give him a hug to make him feel better?"

Her little hands hesitantly took the bear and hugged him to her chest. I smiled. "That's right, sweetheart."

"You're not scary. You're being nice," the child whispered. She didn't seem particularly surprised by this; she was just stating a fact. But her next question startled me. "Mom says I have a guardian angel. Are you my guardian angel?"

Taken aback, I frantically thought of what to say. "I suppose for tonight, I am your guardian angel," I answered finally. "But I'm not an angel. I'm an alicorn."

"Oh," the girl answered, seeming slightly disappointed. Then her face brightened. "So do you know Twilight?"

"Yes, but how did you know?" Had she gone through the portal without anypony knowing?

"Sunset Shimmer told me." The little girl lay back down in bed, hugging the teddy to her chest. "She used to babysit me and she'd sing songs and tell stories to help me get to sleep. She told me all about Equestria and the princesses. She said it was real and I believed her."

"You believed her…" It was more to myself. Sunset had told story after story of Equestria and how its magic had come to our world. Most of Canterlot—including me, at first—had regarded her stories as entertaining, but as fantasies and ridiculous. But the children believed her. The children—who were too young to have been taught that science explains everything. They knew it was true.

And now the one who told those stories was in mortal danger.

I shook myself. "Sweetie, I have to go."

She suddenly looked afraid again. "But what if those monsters come back?"

"You'll be safe. Trust me." I knelt beside her bed. "You just have to get to sleep. What's your favorite bedtime song?"

" 'I Have to Try'."

It was an interesting request, but fortunately it happened to be one of my favorite songs from my life in the human world. I pulled the girl's blanket up a little higher and started to sing to her.

"The world seems not the same…/though I know nothing has changed…/it's all my state of mind…/I can't leave it all behind…/I have to stand up to be stronger!"

The child closed her eyes and smiled.

"I have to try/to break free from the thoughts in my mind/use the time that I have, I can say/goodbye, have to make it right."

It was as if the song was written for me at that moment.

"I have to fight/'cause I know in the end it's worthwhile/that the pain that I feel's gonna fade/away, it will be all right."

I just hope that's true for me, I thought.

"I know…/I should realize…/time is precious…/it is worthwhile…/despite how I feel inside…/have to trust it'll be alright…/have to stand up to be stronger!"

My mind rested on Sunset Shimmer and Savannah for a moment, wondering if they had any hope of what this song was saying. Was there any way that their standing up could save them? I didn't know.

"I have to try/to break free from the thoughts in my mind/use the time that I have, I can say/goodbye, have to make it right…/have to fight/'cause I know in the end it's worthwhile/that the pain that I feel's gonna fade/away, it will be all right."

I knew what was coming in the song—and it was the part that resonated so strongly with me in my predicament. As tears filled my eyes, I struggled to keep my voice steady.

"Oh, this night is too long/have no strength to go on/no more pain, I'm floating away…/through the mist I see the face/of an angel, calls my name/I remember you're the reason I have to stay…"

Who was my angel? I asked myself in that moment.

In the strangest of ways, I suppose my angel was the little child I was singing to sleep. She was one of the reasons I could not lose this battle. I did have personal stakes in the fight, and of course I had to keep Equestria safe. But I had another world to protect as well.

"I have to try/to break free from the thoughts in my mind/use the time that I have, I can say/goodbye, have to make it right…/I have to fight/'cause I know in the end it's worthwhile/that the pain that I feel's gonna fade/away, it will be alright!"

I realized the little girl had fallen asleep long before I finished the song. Gently I kissed her on the forehead; she stirred but didn't waken. I rose to my feet and silently summoned two spells. One was a spell Luna had used on Twilight days before in Equestria, the peaceful slumber spell, which was supposed to keep the recipient free from nightmares. I knew it wasn't always effective but I wanted this girl to be safe. The second spell put up a barrier around the girl's bed, protecting her from dark magic. No one with evil intentions could approach her, and if the sirens returned, they could be standing right outside her window and screaming in the off-tune voices they'd gotten after the battle of the bands—she wouldn't be able to hear them.

As I turned to go I could have sworn I saw a figure hovering outside the window, her transparent butterfly-like wings turning the moonlight a shade of purple-pink. Her hair seemed to be in a ponytail, including the magical tail that reached almost to her feet. A slight red glow from her lower throat revealed the shape of a six-sided gemstone.

A siren.

But as quickly as she had appeared, and before I could react, she had vanished.

Once I was certain she had gone, I spread my wings and took to the night sky once more.

**Hey guys! Pinkie Pie here! I'm learning to type with hooves! Isn't that awesome?**

**Me: Ugh, Pinkie...**

**Pinkie: Oh, take it easy! Sorry everypony! LoverofChrist is still recovering from when I showed up the other night and talked to her MLP plush toys. I had to post this chapter for her.**

**Me: Pinkie, the fourth wall is destroyed...don't rip any more holes in the space-time continuum...please!**

**Pinkie: Sweet cupcakes and balloons! A mirror! "I solemnly swear not to be scared..."**

**Me: Pinkie, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!**

**Pinkie: "...at the prospect of being doubly paired!"**

**(A duplicate leaps from the mirror and stands next to Pinkie.)**

**Both: "I solemnly swear..."**

**Me: Help...**


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